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Five Palestine Action activists remain imprisoned in Scotland

 

The group, dubbed the Thales 5, face sentences between 12 and 14 months. 

Activists from campaign group Palestine Action remain imprisoned in Scotland after being refused an appeal for immediate release from prison. 

The campaigners, described by the group as the Thales 5, were imprisoned after action at the Thales factory in Govan sought to disrupt the French arms giant's operations, targeting the factory due to Thales' considerable links with Israel's largest arms firm, Elbit Systems, along with its direct supplies to the Israeli military during an ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Two of the group, Stuart Bretherton and Calum Lacy, continue to be held in HMP Barlinnie, despite an appeal hearing last week. They instead had their sentences reduced from 12 month to 10 for “breach of the peace”. 

Their imprisonment, superseding Scottish Sentencing Council guidelines against custodial sentences for those under 25 years of age, was issued by sheriff John McCormick to "deter" further actions by others against weapons companies in Scotland. 

Both the original Sheriff and the Judges overseeing the appeal ignored the social work reports, which did not recommend jail as appropriate sentencing in this case. 

Annie Lane, partner of Stuart Bretherton, said: "I deeply respect all five of them for the action they took and all Palestine action prisoners and activists in the UK who are refusing to be complict whilst we witness a genocide in real time on our screens. These activists really are the best of us. 

“Stuart and I are expecting and having to go through pregnancy without him has been really difficult. But I think of the all those pregnant or with children living in Palestine under Israeli apartheid and I know what I am experiencing will never be as painful as what they are going through."

 

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