Judge Hands Down The Terror Sentence; One Juror Bites Back

Right, so these four young people were not convicted of terrorism.But that is the bit the state would quite like you to overlook, along with pliant state media.Just hop past it. Don’t linger. Don’t ask awkward little questions like, “Hang on, if they were not convicted of terrorism, why the hell are they being sentenced as such then?”Because when you ask yourself that, you realise just how much this stinks don’t you?Four Palestine Action activists were convicted over action at an Elbit Systems site, an Israeli weapons factory. Serious convictions, yes. Criminal damage, yes. In one case, GBH without intent, yes. Nobody needs to pretend those are not real charges.But terrorism?That was not the jury’s verdict. They didn’t even know such a sentence in connection with their verdict was even on the table, they weren’t told that, so how can this possibly be regarded as justice?It’s a very British way of doing authoritarianism, isn’t it?No jackboots needed. No roaring dictator on a balcony. Just a man in robes, adding on a terror element at sentencing in a first of its kind slide into fascism, and for what? To protect Israel. A state committing genocide, an apartheid state, a state which clearly has far too much influence in ours.