Facing prosecution for a closing speech, Rajiv Menon KC denies asking the jury to act on their consciences, and recalls how the case led him to miss out on seeing his father before he died
The first barrister in British history to face prosecution for a closing speech – in this case delivered to a jury during a Palestine Action trial – has described how he missed making a last visit to see his father to fight the case.
“It is very tough,” Rajiv Menon, a leading human rights barrister, told The Observer. “I’ve tried not to talk about the personal stuff too much but this will be with me for the rest of my life.”
Menon is accused of encouraging the jury in the case of six protesters who broke into the UK factory of the Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems in August 2024 to ignore the judge’s directions and deliver a verdict according to their conscience.
The trial resulted in the acquittal of his client, Charlotte Head, 30, and five others on charges of aggravated burglary although the jury was unable to reach verdicts on charges of criminal damage. They later faced re-trial and were convicted.
Menon found out he was being referred to the high court for contempt in February, while he was on holiday with his 24-year-old son in Vietnam.
“I was due to go from there to India to see my father… I clearly had to lawyer up, I had to come back to the country and I did,” he said. “On 20 May, my father died. I never saw him again and it’s a direct result of these senior judges going after me. I will never forgive them for that, ever.”
He is fighting the case against him in the court of appeal but later this year faces a trial, without a jury, in front of a high court judge that could result in a jail sentence and the end of his career. He is believed to be the first British barrister to face such charges over a closing speech.
Menon, 62, is an experienced KC, who has defended many political activists and appeared at the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, the Hillsborough inquests and the Grenfell Tower inquiry. He lives with his wife in east London and has two adult children.
