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London, United Kingdom – Before her arrest, Charlotte Head was a charity worker supporting victims of domestic violence and had volunteered at refugee camps in Calais.

Head, 29, is part of the "Filton 24", a group of pro-Palestine activists alleged to have raided the Bristol branch of Elbit Systems UK, a subsidiary of Israel's largest weapons manufacturer, in August 2024.

In August 2025, about a year after her arrest, she said she attempted to take her own life at Foston Hall prison. "I was so depressed and so isolated and was so aware that the public was just being told these lies about us, by the police, by the right-wing press, by the state itself – I had no power to counter that narrative," she said.

She was taken to an emergency department, "where I was handcuffed to a prison officer the whole time". After blood tests, she was returned to prison from hospital the following day.

In 2025, 29 people died in UK prisons in circumstances officially described as "self-inflicted", while there were about 75,000 incidents of self-harm.

Founded in 2020, Palestine Action aims to counter Israeli war crimes and what it says is British complicity by targeting weapons manufacturers. All Palestine Action-linked activists have denied the charges against them.

Recently, the High Court ruled that the Palestine Action ban was unlawful, and all "Filton 24" defendants have been acquitted of aggravated burglary.

Source: www.aljazeera.com