The anti-colonial ‘witch' behind Palestine Action recruitment drive

Telegraph

17 hours ago

An anti-colonial artist whose work is inspired by 'folklore, witchcraft and mythology' can be unmasked as a ringleader behind Palestine Action 's recruitment drive.
Gamze Sanli was the speaker at a 'direct action workshop' in which new members were instructed on how to attack targets across the country, including RAF bases.
During the workshop, which was accessed by The Telegraph, Ms Sanli told recruits they would be part of a new, sustained wave of attacks on military sites and discussed tactics such as attacking machinery with a 'sledgehammer'.
Ms Sanli said that plans to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group were 'draconian and dangerous' and the organisation would 'continue to operate' even if designated as a terror group.
It can now be disclosed that the Turkish-Cypriot activist is a graduate from King's College London and holds an MA in human rights from University College London.
In a biography on her website, Ms Sanli, who describes herself as a multidisciplinary artist and performer, says that 'her craft weaves folklore and mythology, abolition and political resistance, death and witchcraft'.
The biography adds: 'Moving through different mediums, including experimental film and performance, documentary, illustration, embroidery, poetry and music, she reimagines and reframes the world with a queering, anti-colonial lens.'
Ms Sanli, who is thought to have lived in an expensive central London neighbourhood near Hyde Park, also says she is the founder of 'Scattered Seeds', a collective of diasporans, migrants and internationalists focusing on anti-colonial, abolitionist, feminist resistance with radical pedagogy, archiving, and art.
She works on projects within the intersection of migration and queerness in Belgium as part of a project called 'Queers on the Move'.
During the meeting for new recruits, Ms Sanli discussed tactics for breaking into factories and urged people to hit 'everything you can find with a sledgehammer'.
She advised them on how to set up autonomous cells able to target military bases without detection.
A slide in the call identified three RAF bases most suitable for attack: RAF Cranwell and RAF Barkston Heath, both in Lincolnshire; and RAF Valley, in Anglesey, North Wales. The Telegraph has passed details to police.
In 2022, Ms Sanli was one of two Palestine Action protesters who squirted tomato ketchup onto a statue of Arthur Balfour in the members' lobby of the House of Commons.
The protest was timed to coincide with the 105th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration – the controversial declaration by the British government in 1917 that became a core component of the British mandate for Palestine.
As the protesters sprayed the ketchup, which the group described as fake blood, one said: 'Palestinians have suffered for 105 years because of this man, Lord Balfour – he gave away their homeland and it wasn't his to give.'
The two protesters glued themselves to the statue after squirting the ketchup, before revealing a miniature Palestinian flag and shouting 'free Palestine'.
Ms Sanli was charged with criminal damage but, following a week-long trial at Southwark Crown Court, she was found not guilty in a unanimous verdict on Dec 18 2023.
Speaking at the time, Ms Sanli said: 'We wanted to show that this is not a faraway geopolitical conflict.
'We're talking about apartheid and settler colonialism, violations of the human rights of a whole people, and we need to see that through the lens of British complicity.'
During the workshop, Ms Sanli also gave legal advice to new recruits on what they themselves should do if they were arrested.
Recruits were warned that if they were arrested, Palestine Action would not pay their legal fees but would offer 'support'.
An 'arrest support group' would be on hand to help those detained and recruits were told that if they did not have enough money to pay legal costs, they could rely on legal aid.
Ms Sanli also advised them on what potential sentences they would likely get for a range of offences, including criminal damage, trespass and burglary.
She did not mention the fact that if Palestine Action is proscribed, anyone who is a member of the group or expresses support for it would face sentences of up to 14 years in prison.
Outlining the various strategies for attacking targets, Ms Sanli said that the plan for new recruits was to carry out sustained, serious disruption.
In the past, the group had focused on carrying out 'accountable' attacks with the aim of getting caught and raising publicity.
The focus for the new cohort was on carrying out covert actions and escaping undetected.
They were told not to take phones on raids and to hand over their belongings to neighbours in case their homes were searched if they were arrested.
On Friday, four people were arrested by counter-terror police in connection with a break-in at RAF Brize Norton last week.
A woman, 29, of no fixed abode and two men, aged 36 and 24 from London, were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, contrary to Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Another woman, 41, of no fixed abode, was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Footage posted online by Palestine Action following the incident showed two people inside the RAF base in Oxfordshire.
The clip showed one person riding an electric scooter to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker and spraying paint into one of its jet engines. Two planes were damaged.
The Metropolitan Police has been contacted and asked to confirm if it is investigating the direct action workshops and whether those delivering them may have committed any criminal offences.