UK anti-Israel duo get 2-year suspended term for trespassing arms factory

JTA — A British court fined and handed a suspended sentence to two people who had trespassed on a weapons factory in protest of its dealings with Israel.

The Jewish Chronicle reported that Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Thursday ordered Jessica Nero and Gavin Pidwell to pay the equivalent of $316 each in costs and gave them a suspended sentence of two years.

In April of 2011 they blocked the gates at the EDO MBM plant near Brighton, claiming they were protesting against the firm’s production of weapons systems supplied to Israel.

The pair are members of the Smash EDO group, whose activists have previously caused hundreds of thousands of pounds of damage to the EDO premises.

In a statement, the pair said they were “naturally disappointed” with the verdict but planned to appeal.