London Jihadist Arrested--Huzzah!

[Monte Smith]

They finally took the jihadic brute of the Finsbury Park mosque into custody. Bravo.



Britain arrested radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri on May 27, 2004 in a pre-dawn raid prompted by a U.S. extradition warrant that could lead to months of legal wrangling. The fate of the cleric -- who preaches holy war and openly admires Osama bin Laden -- was unclear as Britain is already weighing its own charges and Yemen also seeks his extradition.

[Uli]

Excerpt from an article in today's London times. I think that's a bit of a problem in the future. What will constitute an adequate assurance from a gov'mint with an attitude of "What international law?":

"David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, would need "adequate assurances" that the death penalty would not apply in Abu Hamza's case before he would agree to any extradition, a Home Office spokesman said today."

[Monte Smith]

Originally Posted by Uli

Excerpt from an article in today's London times. I think that's a bit of a problem in the future. What will constitute an adequate assurance from a gov'mint with an attitude of "What international law?":

"David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, would need "adequate assurances" that the death penalty would not apply in Abu Hamza's case before he would agree to any extradition, a Home Office spokesman said today."

I propose a wink and a nod.

[Douglas]

Originally Posted by Monte Smith

I propose a wink and a nod.

that won't be much help with Blunkett

[Nathaniel Catchpole]

Monte,

The UK's 1993/4 extradition treaty with the US requires that no prisoner can be extradited if they're likely to face the death penalty.

Ashcroft's apparently already mentioned it.



Apparently the police here are still considering pressing charges themselves, although that's been rejected several times due to not enough evidence. The government was considering using new legislation (not sure if it's extant or in process) to revoke his British citizenship.

Yemen's requests for extradition have been going on since 1998, and have been ignored until now. The BBC just had a spokesman from the Yemeni government on who said they'd tried several times to extradite him themselves, and that the Americans had taken no interest in Hamza until after 9/11.

Finsbury Park Mosque might re-open soon if he stays in jail though, so your requests to bomb prominent landmarks on my way to work appear to have fallen on deaf ears.

Also worth noting that Labour announced 370 new troops to go to Iraq today, just after this arrest occurred. News burying anyone? I'll give odds on the next (much bigger) announcement occurring after local elections on June 10th.

[Al in NYC]

Other than saying and believing a lot of nasty things, what exactly is this guy charged with? Would any of it actually be likely to result in a death penalty prosecution?

[Nathaniel Catchpole]

The charges are one's that the British Government hasn't been able to bring themselves, and apparently a lot of it's from a supergrass in the states who confessed to supporting the Taliban and is now providing evidence to a Grand Jury.

Apparently, in 1998, he was involved in the kidnapping of some tourists (I assume American) in Yemen, the Yemeni's have been trying to extradite him for that since then. The supergrass has also discussed him funding terrorist organisations (can't remember if it was Al Qaeda or "linked to" Al Qaeda, or Taliban/Al Qaeda). The hostage taking carries a maximum sentence in the US of death or life-imprisonment, specifically and quite stupidly mentioned by Ashcroft in his press briefing.

The extradition goes to Blunkett first, who although he's a complete arsehole in all matters of civil liberties might get stuck unless the US finds "an alternative sentence", and possibly try to get them to hand over evidence so he can be tried here or deported to Yemen. Regardless of how unpopular Hamza is, and yes that includes unpopularity with large numbers of the Muslim community in Finsbury Park, no one will be happy about a break of UK (not international, although it'd probably break that as well) law, since that could lead to less unpopular British Muslims being extradited illegally later on. Worth remembering that the British detainees who were brought back from Guantenemo were released within a week of their arrival in the UK, not heard much about them since.

Even if Blunkett approves the extradition, which'd almost certainly require concrete assurances from the US, Hamza still has rights of appeal in the UK, being a British Citizen (by marriage fwiw), so it'd have to go through several courts, a process taking several months. Not sure, but if his lawyers consider the extradition a breach of human rights, it could potentially go to the Lords or the European Court of Human Rights, especially with the death penalty already being mentioned.

[Uli]

Al,

this article from the London times informs about some of the charges:

Abu Hamza charged in US with terror offences
BY PA NEWS

Abu Hamza, the radical Muslim cleric, was remanded in custody today after appearing in a high-security London court facing extradition to the US on terror-related charges.

The indictment, announced earlier in New York by John Ashcroft, the US Attorney General, includes charges relating to a 1998 hostage-taking in Yemen, during which three Britons and one Australian died.

He was also charged with providing support and resources to al-Qaeda and attempting to set up a training camp in Oregon.

Mr Ashcroft said that telephone records linked Abu Hamza with the Yemen hostage takers and that the cleric provided a satellite phone to leaders of the hostage plot.

Raymond Kelly, the New York police commissioner, said that Abu Hamza was the "real deal." He added: "He is suspected of providing support to trainees in Osama bin Laden's terrorist camps as well as dispatching associates from England to help establish Jihad training sites here in the US.

"Think of him as a freelance consultant to terrorism groups worldwide."

Abu Hamza could be extradited within four months under the new "fast track" Anglo-American treaty, which came into force at the start of this year. But if lawyers resort to every avenue of appeal at each stage of the proceedings, the process could be as long as a year.

The maximum penalty for the hostage offences is death, but Abu Hamza is unlikely to face such a fate. David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, would need "adequate assurances" that the death penalty would not apply before he would agree to any extradition, a Home Office spokesman said today.

In a special court in Belmarsh prison, south-east London today the cleric wore a grey coat, open-necked white shirt and white T-shirt and sat between two guards in bright yellow shirts.

He stood and confirmed his name and date of birth before the charges were put to him by the clerk of the court. Above him in the public gallery more than a dozen of his supporters sat alongside anti-Hamza protesters.

He gave a slight laughand shrugged his shoulders when he was asked if he would consent to being extradited. He then replied: "I don't really think I want to, no."

For much of the hearing, including when the lengthy charge list was read out, Abu Hamza appeared to be asleep.

The cleric’s lawyers asked for him to be released on bail, but District Judge Timothy Workman refused this, remanding him in custody until June 3. His main extradition hearing is scheduled for July 23.

Officers from Scotland Yard arrested Abu Hamza at his home in Shepherd's Bush, West London, at around 3am. Anti-terrorist branch detectives carried out a search.

Abu Hamza, 47, used to preach every Friday at the Finsbury Park Mosque in North London, which is linked to al-Qaeda suspects. Egyptian-born, he claims to have lost an eye and a hand in the Mujahidin campaign against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

He had been facing extradition to the Yemen, where he is also wanted on terrorist charges.

In April last year legal moves were begun to strip him of his British citizenship and deport him to the Yemen using new powers introduced by Mr Blunkett.

The powers allow British citizenship to be removed from immigrants who "seriously prejudice" the UK's interests.

Abu Hamza's lawyers immediately appealed against the move. Last month that appeal formally began, but a full hearing by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission was delayed until January 10, 2005.

Unless Abu Hamza's lawyers successfully fight off today's US extradition attempt, that hearing is unlikely to take place.

Although the US indictment against Hamza mentions 11 charges, only nine were listed in court in London today.

The husband of a British tourist who was shot dead after being taken hostage in the Yemen today expressed his relief that Abu Hamza was facing trial over the kidnappings.

Margaret Whitehouse, 52, a teacher from Hampshire, was killed along with Ruth Williamson, 34, an NHS employee from Edinburgh, university lecturer Peter Rowe, 60, from Durham, and Australian Andrew Thirsk, after 16 westerners were kidnapped by Islamic militants in the Yemen in December 1998.

She died while trying to aid a fellow hostage during a shoot-out between Yemeni Government forces and their captors.

Margaret’s husband Laurence Whitehouse, 59, who survived the kidnappings, said that it was a "landmark day".

"It is a good day because if it stops people being recruited into Islamic fundamentalism that would be a good step forward," he said.

"He (Hamza) has been allowed to continue preaching anti-western, anti-liberal views. This is completely undesirable."

[Monte Smith]

Well, well, well. The mad mullah of Finsbury Park has been found guilty on several counts and won't be rallying the faithful at the Terror Dome for some time.

Hamza guilty of inciting murder
BBC

Controversial Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri has been found guilty by an Old Bailey jury of using his sermons to incite murder and race hate charges.

The cleric, 47, was also found guilty of having audio and video tapes intended to encourage racial hatred and having a document for terror purposes.

US authorities are seeking his extradition for terror-related matters.


Guilty? This guy?!

Following the decision by the Old Bailey jury, Abu Hamza will be sentenced shortly.

The Egyptian-born preacher, who was arrested in May 2004, was said to have given inflammatory sermons that used unequivocal language.

Following his arrest, more than 3,000 audio cassettes and 600 videos were found of speeches intended for wider distribution.

And a terror manual - an encyclopaedia of Afghani Jihad - found at his west London home listed Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty as possible targets for an attack.

A search of Finsbury Park mosque, in north London, also led to the discovery of forged passports, CS gas, knives, guns capable of firing blanks and tents.

Jurors watched around 20 hours of video tapes of the cleric's sermons.

The court heard him describe Jews as the "enemy of Islam", tell followers to "bleed" the enemies of Islam and they should not rest until they created a "Muslim state".

The jury heard that he did not aim his vitriolic rhetoric only against Jews, unbelievers and the democratic West.

In Abu Hamza's numerous lectures and sermons, targets included homosexual vicars, the tourist industry, the royal family and women in bikinis.

His defence was that he was encouraging Muslims to stand up for themselves.

The prosecution had told the court that Abu Hamza was a recruiting sergeant for terrorism and murder.

David Perry, prosecuting, said the cleric made clear encouragements to kill when he gave lectures and sermons at the Finsbury Park mosque and in Luton, Blackburn and Whitechapel, east London.

The jury heard that Abu Hamza "was preaching terrorism, homicidal violence and hatred".

They also heard that the preacher had "used the most dangerous weapons available - a great religion, Islam, his position as a civic leader and the power of words, his own words".

Director of Public Prosecutions Ken Macdonald QC said Abu Hamza had preached "a dangerous mix of hatred and violence" that "had nothing to do with the true teachings of Islam as it is practised peacefully and tolerantly by millions of people in Britain and around the world".

He added: "Behaviour like Abu Hamza's is not a legitimate exercise in free speech. In fact it deliberately threatens openness and diversity.

"Where appropriate, prosecutors will not hesitate to bring further cases in this category in future."

Abu Hamza faced nine charges under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, which alleged that he solicited others at public meetings to murder Jews and other non-Muslims.

He faced four other charges under the Public Order Act 1986 of "using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with the intention of stirring up racial hatred".

He was found guilty of six charges of soliciting to murder and three of stirring up racial hatred.

But he was found not guilty of three charges of soliciting to murder and one charge related to "stirring up racial hatred".

He was found guilty of a further charge of being in possession of video and audio recordings which he intended to distribute to stir up racial hatred.

He was also found guilty of the final charge, under section 58 of the Terrorism Act, accused him of possessing the Encyclopaedia of the Afghani Jihad, which, it is claimed, contained information "of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism".

Abu Hamza will remain at Belmarsh high security prison, where he has been held since his arrest.

ABU HAMZA VERDICTS
Guilty of 6 charges of soliciting to murder
Guilty of 3 charges related to "stirring up racial hatred"
Guilty of 1 charge of owning recordings related to "stirring up racial hatred"
Guilty of 1 charge of possessing "terrorist encyclopaedia"
Not guilty of 3 charges of soliciting to murder
Not guilty of 1 charge related to "stirring up racial hatred"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/h...ws/4689556.stm

[Scott Dolan]

That's usually what I look like after a night of heavy drinkin. That first piss is always a zinger! You can't even begin to imagine how cold that hook can get!!

Poor guy. Hell, if I had to look at that in the mirror every morning I'd probably be a "mad dog" too. He ought to learn to handle his appearance, psychologically at least.

[Mike Goodbar]

Answers to the nickname "Lucky."

[moneyp]

Originally Posted by Mike Goodbar

Answers to the nickname "Lucky."

Or "Lefty."

[Enforcer]

Originally Posted by Mike Goodbar

Answers to the nickname "Lucky."

Reports that he has associated with Al Qaeda supporters known by the names "Line" and "Sinker" could not be confirmed.

[Monte Smith]

The Old Bailey gave the bastard seven years.


He's not such a bad guy, eh?

[Darryl G. Thomas]

He's only 47? Damn!

[Solo Jazz]

http://www.democracynow.org/article..../02/08/1515254

"... Muslim Cleric Sentenced To Seven Years in Prison Over Sermons
In Britain, Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri has been sentenced to seven years in prison for incitement of racial hatred and soliciting murder. Hamza is known for making fiery attacks on Jews, Christians, and gays, but has never been shown to have direct links to violent acts. His sentence comes days after a British court acquitted Nick Griffin, leader of the rightist British National Party, of hate speech. Griffin was recorded calling Islam a "wicked, vicious faith" that "has expanded through a handful of cranky lunatics" and "is now sweeping country after country." Massoud Shadjareh, of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said: "Compared with what has happened in the past few days -- Nick Griffin and the (Mohammed) caricatures – [Hamza’s conviction] has increased the perception in the Muslim community that freedom of speech is selective and access to justice is not blind." ..."

Any questions?

[Darryl G. Thomas]

Did Griffin advocate the murder of Muslims? Are the offenses of Griffin and al-Masri equivalent?

Arrr, matey. Ho ho ho an' a bottle of rum.

[Solo Jazz]

ABU HAMZA VERDICTS
Guilty of 6 charges of soliciting to murder
Guilty of 3 charges related to "stirring up racial hatred"
Guilty of 1 charge of owning recordings related to "stirring up racial hatred"
Guilty of 1 charge of possessing "terrorist encyclopaedia"
Not guilty of 3 charges of soliciting to murder
Not guilty of 1 charge related to "stirring up racial hatred"

Is it me, or does this frighten the hell out of anyone else.

Dear Mr. David Duke (et al):

If what's going on in the U.K. is any indication of what is to come in the U.S. vis-a-vis the new criminality your arse is in deep kemshe!

Sincerely,
Lady Justice

[Monte Smith]

Originally Posted by Solo Jazz

Is it me, or does this frighten the hell out of anyone else.

Nope. I'm glad they got the crook by his hook. It'd be nicer if they extradited him, to be sure.

[Scott Dolan]

Originally Posted by Monte Smith

He's not such a bad guy, eh?

Now, now, Montessa. Musn't judge a hook by its cover.

[Monte Smith]

Originally Posted by Scott Dolan

Musn't judge a hook by its cover.

It'd be very nice if they brought him over for further scrutiny.

[Monte Smith]

Looks like US authorities are inviting Hamza for an early visit. How sweet. Just a pop over for a trial while he's still doing time in Britain.

US want jailed cleric Hamza
Ananova.com

United States prosecutors told an extradition hearing that they want to put race hate preacher Abu Hamza on trial for terrorism before he completes his UK jail term.

That would mean the hook-handed cleric could become one of the first Britons to be extradited to a foreign court mid-sentence, it was later learned.

But they must now wait until he has used up every possible line of appeal against his convictions for incitement to murder and stirring up racial hatred.

Hamza, 47, is just weeks into a seven-year prison term after an Old Bailey jury found him guilty of 11 offences last month.

The conviction followed his arrest in 2004, just months after the US authorities began moves to extradite him to face terrorism charges.

The arrest put those proceedings, which accused him of being part of a worldwide conspiracy to wage war on the West, on hold.

Senior US lawyers also accused him of providing support to terrorists and foreign terrorist organisations, specifically Al Qaida.

A further charge alleges he took part in a conspiracy to take hostages in connection with an attack in Yemen in December of 1998.

It has now emerged that Hamza could face the charges in an American court much sooner than expected, after an appeal against his UK conviction is dealt with. After that trial, he would return to the UK to complete his jail term before being extradited once again, if found guilty, to serve any penalty imposed by a US judge.

The maximum sentence for hostage-taking in the US is life imprisonment, while the other charges have maximum penalties of 100 years in prison each.

[Monte Smith]

Originally Posted by Douglas

that won't be much help with Blunkett

I GET IT!

Blunkett's blind. It only took me almost two years.

[Douglas]

Originally Posted by Monte Smith

I GET IT!

Blunkett's blind. It only took me almost two years.

Hoorah! I just knew that it wouldn't be wasted on someone who gets trifle jokes and wears England cricket tops.

"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs..."

[Monte Smith]

Hoorah! al-Masri's coming over. Let's get the party started.



Abu Hamza loses High Court battle against US extradition
The Times
Adam Fresco, Crime Correspondent

Abu Hamza al-Masri, the radical Muslim cleric, has lost his High Court fight against extradition to the US, where he faces terror-related charges. Two judges ruled yesterday that the decision to extradite was “unassailable”.

Egyptian-born Abu Hamza, 51, from West London, who has hooks on both partially amputated arms, is serving a seven-year jail term for stirring up racial hatred and inciting followers to murder nonbelievers.

The US authorities want him to stand trial for allegedly attempting to set up an al-Qaeda training camp in Bly, Oregon.

He could face a total of 11 terrorism charges, including sending money and recruits to assist the Taleban and al-Qaeda.

Senior district judge Timothy Workman ruled at Westminster Magistrates’ Court that Abu Hamza, currently held at Belmarsh top security prison in southeast London, could be extradited, and in February this year Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, gave the final approval.

The High Court judges said that they had reached the “clear conclusion that the order made by Judge Workman was properly made, and that the subsequent decision of the [Home Secretary] was unassailable”.

Abu Hamza’s lawyers had argued that extradition was unlawful because he would be tried in the US “on the basis of the fruits of torture”.

They said that there was clear evidence that torture was used on some individuals in the process of gathering the information that led to the US extradition request.

They also contended that it would be “unjust and oppressive” to extradite because of the passage of time and incompatible with Abu Hamza’s human rights. They said that any further trial should take place in London. The judges rejected all the arguments.

The judges ruled that none of the material used by US authorities “carries anything of the smell of the torture chamber sufficient to require its exclusion in a trial in this country”.

Listed at the High Court in London under his real name, Mostafa Kamel Mostafa, Aby Hamza was the first person to be arrested under the streamlined Anglo-American extradition treaty when police raided his home in May 2004. It is alleged that he assisted a gang of kidnappers in Yemen who abducted a party of Western tourists in 1998.

Valerie Fleming, who married Abu Hamza in 1980 and divorced him in 1984 after giving birth to his son, told The Times: “Good. I am glad his attempt to overturn this has failed.”

She added: “He should face charges in the States because he has obviously become a very bad man.”


Chicks huh, Abu?