Oxford Palestine activist ‘hit sergeant with sledgehammer’

Samuel Corner told his trial he brought the tool down on Sergeant Kate Evans after he heard “someone screaming” and feared they were being injured by security guards during a raid at Israel-based defence firm Elbit Systems’ site near Bristol on August 6, 2024.

On Thursday, Woolwich Crown Court heard Corner had hit the officer after being sprayed with Pava spray, without shouting a warning and the officer had not been able to see him coming.

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When asked if he thought striking Sgt Evans was over the top, the 23-year-old admitted it would have been had he considered the consequences.

Of the officer, prosecutor Deanna Heer KC asked the defendant: “She posed no threat to you at all, did she?”

“Well no, not to me,” Corner said.

Supporters outside Woolwich Crown Court, London, where Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Leona Kamio, Katema Rajwani and Zoe Rogers are facing a retrial (Image: Yui Mok)

The prosecutor continued: “Did you hit her because you thought she was a security guard and she was complicit with Elbit?”

“No,” he replied.

“Did you think, Mr Corner, that she was fair game?” she asked.

“No,” the defendant responded.

The prosecutor asked: “Do you agree that, whatever you may have thought, it was completely unreasonable to hit Sgt Evans with a sledgehammer?”

“I mean it seemed reasonable to do something and I had to act quickly,” Corner responded.

“Do you think it was completely unreasonable, over the top, to hit Sgt Evans on the back with a sledgehammer?” Ms Heer asked.

“Yes, if I’d thought about what that was going to do, then yes,” the defendant said.

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Tom Wainwright, defending, asked: “The prosecution’s case is that your actions were unreasonable, what do you say to that?”

“I disagree,” Corner replied.

Jurors have heard Corner believed one of his female friends was being “seriously hurt” and he had acted to “protect” her.

The defendant said he now accepted Sgt Evans was not injuring anyone before he struck her.

Corner previously told the court he “would never want to seriously hurt anyone”, and denied it was part of a plan to use violence against people during the raid.

At an earlier hearing, Sgt Evans told jurors she believed her spine could have been “shattered” and feared she may have been “paralysed” after being hit by the activist.

Alongside Corner, Charlotte Head, 30, Leona Kamio, 30, Fatema Rajwani, 21, Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31, are on trial accused of criminal damage over the incident.

Leona Kamio outside Woolwich Crown Court, London, where she is facing a retrial, along with fellow activists (Image: Yui Mok)

Corner, a former linguistics and philosophy student at Oxford University, denies further charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Sgt Evans.

The trial has heard the defendants crashed into shutters outside the factory in a prison van, which was driven by Head and used “as a battering ram”.

Zoe Rogers arriving at Woolwich Crown Court, London, where she is facing a retrial along with fellow activists (Image: Yui Mok)

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Once inside, they used sledgehammers and crowbars to destroy computers, drones and other equipment, and sprayed the walls and floor with red paint using fire extinguishers, the court heard.

On Thursday, the public gallery was almost full with supporters of the defendants, some of whom wore keffiyeh scarves.

The defendants deny all charges and the trial continues.