The UK government proscribed Palestine Action as a terrorist group in July 2025 [Getty]
Five Palestine Action activists who targeted a Barclays branch in Lancashire in 2024 will not be sentenced under terrorism legislation, a UK judge ruled on Friday.
Judge Robert Altham, sitting at Preston Crown Court, ruled that Hmeera Atiqnisar, 31; Amanda Kelly, 31; Mohammed Malik, 28; Brendon O’Hagan, 28; and Alma Yaniv, 70, will not face terrorist sentencing provisions when they are sentenced on 4 September.
“Whilst the damage is undoubtedly significant, I’m not satisfied it amounts to serious damage for the purposes of the Terrorism Act,” Altham said. “Section 69 does not apply in this case.”
The activists were convicted in June of causing more than £212,800 worth of damage to a Barclays branch in Burnley in 2024.
“This should never have been an option,” the activists said in a joint statement. “We were on trial for charges of criminal damage, for damaging some windows and spraying red paint on a Barclays branch. At no point during the trial were we, or the jury, informed that, if convicted, we could face being sentenced as terrorists.”
The group said it targeted the branch because it considered Barclays complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territory, citing the bank’s shareholdings in Israeli arms firm Elbit Systems at the time. The action was intended to pressure Barclays to withdraw its financial support for the company.
Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK government under former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer in July 2025, marking the first time Westminster used anti-terror legislation to ban a direct-action protest group. However, the group had not been proscribed at the time of the activists’ convictions.
Human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, have sharply criticised the proscription, describing it as a dangerous escalation against civil liberties and the right to protest.
Photographs from outside Preston Crown Court on Friday afternoon showed dozens of protesters, including friends and family members of the activists, waving Palestinian flags and welcoming the decision.
Several held placards expressing support for Palestine Action, including one reading: “Saving lives is not terrorism — I support Palestine Action.”
According to Defend Our Juries, a UK legal rights group, more than 3,500 people — including many aged over 60 — have been arrested for expressing support for the group.