The Third Filton Trial

Regular coverage of the Palestine Action trial at Woolwich Crown Court

The third trial of the Filton 25 continued at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday as the prosecution opened their case to the jury. The case is being heard by HH Judge Lees, with chief barrister for the prosecution Deanna Heer KC, and lead defence barrister Garry Green KC.

Real Media will be reporting regularly throughout this third trial, with many thanks to journalist Betty Dempsey, aided by extensive note-takers. (Main image: Solidarity protesters at Woolwich ©Barold)

On Friday, lead prosecutor, Deanna Heer KC, spent the morning summarising the Crown’s case against the five Palestine Action defendants, who are jointly charged with criminal damage (contrary to Section 1(1) Criminal Damage Act 1971), and violent disorder (contrary to Section 2(1) Public Order Act 1986). The charges refer to the events of Tuesday 6th August, when it is alleged that they and other ‘actionists’ broke into an Elbit Systems weapons factory at Filton near Bristol.

Heer asserted that the defendants – Qesser Zuhrah (21), Heba Muraisi (31), Kamran Ahmed (29), Liam Mullany (34) and Zahra Farouq (26) were members of an internal group designated the ‘black team’ whose primary role was to overwhelm security guards so that the ‘red team’ could break into the factory. The prosecution’s case is that they did this with threats, intimidation and an assortment of weapons including fireworks, axes and hammers, noting that one security guard suffered a laceration to the head.

The jury were introduced to aerial photographs and diagrams of the factory in order to orient themselves for the evidence they will be hearing in the coming weeks. They were told that there were various sources of evidentiary footage, including CCTV and body-worn cameras from security guards, police officers and activists. Some footage has been submitted into evidence but much more was never recovered.

Heer asserted that after the red team’s van smashed through the initial perimeter fence at 3.30am on the night in question, the black team followed behind on foot, shouting slogans to divert attention away from the red team, who made their way towards a second fence armed with an angle grinder. The black team set off flares and fireworks, warning security staff to stay back. Heer claimed that the black team were masked because they had planned to escape and evade arrest.

The prosecution went on to say that go-pro footage recovered from Heba Muraisi detailed a violent altercation with security guards, who having “disarmed” and detained one of the black team, went on to use those weapons to defend themselves. They claim that as this unfolded, the red team successfully gained access to the factory by using an angle grinder to weaken a shutter, and then using their prison van as a battering ram. At this point, the black team were ordered to fall back, leaving the area via a hole in the fence which led through vegetation on to a railway track. They ran along this to their getaway vehicle – a rental van which had been hired under one of the defendants’ names.

The prosecutor then referenced information recovered from various searches and digital forensics which appeared to include several cryptpad documents detailing extensive organisation and step by step instructions on carrying out direct action. Heer said the evidence was damning, and that nobody who had been briefed could have been surprised at the way in which events unfolded.

Qesser Zuhrah was accused of being the organiser of the black team, procuring clothing and weapons for the operation and providing advice on the level of violence to be expected. The prosecution claim she was sighted performing reconnaissance outside the factory perimeter on July 26th and they also referenced a bundle of messages regarding stockpiling of weapons, logistics and travel arrangements. Heba Muraisi was also accused of shouting instructions during the action and filming the incident for later publication.

The night before the action, activists met at an Airbnb address somewhere between the town centre and the factory. Police recovered a washbag after the action, which contained one of the activists DNA on a toothbrush, placing her at the scene. The prosecution carefully detailed the movements of each defendant as they made their way across the country to the Airbnb, and from there to the Elbit site, communicating using the encrypted Signal phone app, and often travelling separately to avoid detection.

After the action and in the course of the police investigation, Qesser, Heba and Kamran were arrested at their homes on 19th November 2024. Mullaney and Farouq were detained almost a full year after the action in July 2025. All gave ‘no comment’ interviews and were remanded into custody until early 2026.

The prosecution concluded their introduction by stating that the actions of the defendants were clearly unlawful, and that they were not acting in self-defence. Heer claimed that it was clear that there was no question of leaving if security didn’t back down, and quoted an alleged planning document, “Louder, angrier and more determined”, telling the jury that this is what the footage shows.

The case continues this week with witnesses for the prosecution.