A jury has failed to reach any verdicts in the trial of four pro-Palestine protesters accused of causing criminal damage during what they claimed was an attempt to “disarm” an aerospace factory.
The trial of Iain Evans, Hisham Alkhamesi, Hana Yun-Stevens and Frank Sherman, also known as Bea Sherman, ended in a hung jury at Birmingham Crown Court on Thursday after jurors had deliberated for 17 hours and seven minutes.
Jurors were discharged after indicating to the judge that there was no prospect of them reaching majority verdicts in the case, even if given further time.
The panel of seven women and five men first retired last week and had deliberated over four days.
Jurors had been instructed to consider whether each defendant played a part in causing damage to the Moog Wolverhampton Ltd factory, and if they did, whether they intended to damage property.
Machinery at the factory in the Pendeford area of Wolverhampton was exposed to potential rain damage, the court heard, when sections of roof were cut away using power tools. Windows and hundreds of solar panels were also smashed.
Evans, of Saltaire, West Yorkshire; Alkhamesi, of Burbage, Leicestershire; Yun-Stevens, from south-west London; and Sherman, of Ditchling, East Sussex, all pleaded not guilty at a previous hearing to a single count of causing criminal damage to property.
Prosecutors alleged that the defendants, who believed the business was involved in the supply chain to Israel, had no lawful excuse to act as they did.
During the defence case, Keele University maths graduate Evans, 33, told the court he was the driver of a Land Rover used to knock down gates leading to the factory last August.
Alkhamesi, 23, a former student at the University of Southampton, said the group “intended to disrupt production and shipment” at the factory.
In her evidence, Sherman, also 23, said the group had gone to the factory and “worked together” to “disarm” it and put it out of action.
Yun-Stevens, a 24-year-old former care assistant and University College London fine art student, said the four defendants believed the factory’s operations to be “criminal”.
Discharging the jurors, High Court judge Mr Justice Wall thanked them for their service.
He told them: “Juries don’t reach verdicts in every case. These things happen.”
At the start of the trial, the judge instructed jurors to ignore protests taking place outside the court building.
“They are entitled to their views but you must not to let their views influence your judgment,” the judge said.
The Crown asked the court for time to reflect on whether to seek a retrial. All four defendants were bailed until a further hearing fixed for July 3.
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