UK court allows Allianz to sue pro-Palestine activists

UK court allows Allianz to sue pro-Palestine activists Submitted by Oscar Rickett on Tue, 06/09/2026 - 16:18 German insurance giant pursuing civil lawsuit worth almost £300,000 on top of criminal cases The outside of insurance giant Allianz's office in the City of London (Supplied) Off A British court is allowing German insurance giant Allianz to pursue a civil lawsuit against pro-Palestine activists that could end up bankrupting them.  A criminal case is already under way against the activists, who conducted separate protests at Allianz’s offices in Guildford and London in 2024 and 2025. The activists, known as the Allianz6, occupied the offices, spraying them in water-soluble red paint, which the insurance company said caused over £79,000 ($105,575) worth of damage.  On Monday, Central London County Court Judge Alan Johns said the insurance firm could also pursue a near-£300,000 ($400,000) lawsuit against the activists, rejecting a request for a delay until after the criminal trials end. In December last year, Allianz requested a lower sum before tacking on a further £200,000 in symbolic damages - the company referenced “reputational damage and commercial embarrassment" - based on the allegation that the activists had closed each of the offices for a day.  The activists have branded this a “protest licence fee”, and it raised the total cost of the civil lawsuit to £289,604 plus legal costs, which they will have to defend themselves against before the criminal trials begin. The increased demand came after they wrote to Allianz’s lawyers asking they wait for criminal proceedings to conclude before continuing their civil case. One of the activists, community worker Seren John-Wood, told Middle East Eye they had targeted Allianz because they were an insurer for Israeli arms company Elbit Systems. 'This attempt to move the case away from the criminal courts, where we are not able to access financial support for legal representation and have our cases heard by juries, is as appalling as it is unprecedented' - Seren John-Wood, activist In December, the German multinational reportedly dropped its coverage of Elbit, which supplies 85 percent of the drones used by the Israeli military.  John-Wood said that both protests, in London and Guildford, had involved occupying Allianz’s offices for a period of hours before the activists were arrested.  They were charged with criminal damage, aggravated trespass and locking on, before these charges were reduced to criminal damage, which carries the highest sentencing.  The activists represented themselves last month against four Allianz lawyers and argued that a stay should be granted to the civil case as their right to a fair trial would otherwise be breached in criminal proceedings scheduled for October 2026 and January 2028.  The defendants cannot afford legal representation in the civil case, where the standard of proof required is lower.  In 2025, Allianz reported an operating profit of $20.1bn. If forced to pay damages, the money would be taken from the savings and future salaries of the activists, and would most likely leave them in lifelong financial distress. Supressing protest John-Wood told MEE that Allianz’s decision to pursue a civil suit - and the court’s decision to grant it - “shows a level of calculation as to the routes that can be used to supress protest”. Palestine Action defendants targeted Elbit's use of ‘deadly AI’, court hears Read More » “Allianz has seen that there is a groundswell of support for Palestine actions and there is a precedent for juries acquitting pro-Palestine activists,” she said. Civil cases are not decided by juries. “We took action and are prepared to face legal consequences in a criminal court as we believe we are not guilty,” John-Wood said.  “But this attempt to move the case away from the criminal courts, where we are not able to access financial support for legal representation and have our cases heard by juries, is as appalling as it is unprecedented.”  Writer Renee Eshel, another defendant, said: “Allianz ordering us to civil courts while our criminal cases are pending indicates they are using intimidatory fear tactics to bully us into submission and to deter future activists from exposing their complicity in war crimes through Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people.”  Israel's genocide in Gaza News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0