A British judge has sentenced four Palestine Action protesters as terrorists, handing them custodial sentences ranging from four to eight years.
The unprecedented ruling came despite jurors convicting them of criminal charges not connected to terrorism during the prosecution.
On Friday, the presiding judge, Justice Jeremy Johnson, added a “terrorism connection” to their offences.
In a preliminary ruling in March 2025, Johnson found an “appearance” of a terrorism connection in the case, as he said the activists were attempting to influence the Israeli government by restricting their access to weapons. This information was withheld from the jury who convicted them.
So terrorism just doesn’t mean anything anymore.
It does mean something, just not what’s in the dictionary. The definition: “The use of violence or the threat of violence, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political goals.” Based on that, police are constantly using terrorism, but they’re almost never said to be. The state has a monopoly on violence. Terrorism is just a term they use to support that. You acting against the state?" Terrorism." The state acting against you?" Justice."
But also by that definition, these guys don’t count as terrorists
Yeah, that’s my point. Terrorism is just whatever the state doesn’t like at this point. The dictionary definition has no relation to the definition they use.
It’s literally a disinhibitive ruling. Someone somewhere will inevitably think “well if I’m going to be called a terrorist anyway for some property damage, why not shoot at the cop that’s coming to stop me? In for a penny in for a pound.”
It’s always been a label so subjective that it’s essentially meaningless. There’s a reason why most big name news cables have “don’t use the word terror or terrorist” in their style guides.
Ironically, it means the same it has always meant: resistance to colonization/imperialism/opression, it’s just that in the past it was disguised with the veil of “civilization”, and now the mask is off and you can see the naked brutal truth of how the term has always been weaponized
It never has
In the eyes of the oppressor …