Woman, linked to ink bomb plotter, jailed for life for attempted murder of Labour MP

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A Muslim woman has been sentenced to a minimum of 15 years for the attempted murder of Labour MP Stephen Timms.

Roshonara Choudry, 21, stabbed Mr Timms - the Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury - on 14th May this year at his constituency surgery in East Ham, east London over his support of the Iraq War.

Thinking she was just one of his constituents wanting to speak to him about her concerns, he went to shake her hand as she gave him a friendly smile when she arrived. However, she quickly stabbed him in the chest twice before being apprehended by security personnel. She thought, before the attack, that security would shoot and kill her and that she would die a martyr.

Mr Timms then rushed to the bathroom to check his chest wound before being taken to hospital.

At the Old Bailey, Muslims shouted vile abuse at the judge, Mr Timms and members of the jury. They shouted "Curse the judge!" and "Go to hell!" before being bundled out.

They taunted one Muslim juror in a veil: "Shame on you, sister!" Outside, an extremist held up a placard reading: "Stephen Timms, Go To Hell."

Choudhry showed her contempt by again shunning the hearing as she refuses to accept the court's authority. The terrorist appeared via videolink and appeared to smirk as the protesters were led out.

She must serve a minimum of 15 years but will be eligible for parole after that time if she renounces her warped views and is no longer a threat to society. Mr Justice Cooke urged her to "repent".

It's also emerged that Choudhry was linked to the failed ink bomb plotter Anwar al-Awlaki whose bombs were recently discovered on planes in Britain and Dubai. His YouTube speeches preaching Jihad against the West brainwashed the once promising student.

Roshonara Choudhry given life term for attempted murder of Labour MP Stephen Timms

By Adrian Shaw
4/11/2010
The Mirror

As woman terrorist who tried to murder an MP gets life in jail, 100s of vile videos that radicalised her are taken off YouTube



Justice was meted out yesterday to Roshonara Choudhry and the videos of hate that turned her into a terrorist.

The brilliant student, 21, will serve at least 15 years of a life term for trying to murder her MP after being brainwashed by ink bomb plotter Anwar al-Awlaki's speeches on YouTube.

Hours later, the US-based web giant axed hundreds of his vile sermons following an appeal by Britain to the White House. In one, 44 Ways To Support Jihad, the US-born hatemonger had ranted: "Jihad today is obligatory on every capable Muslim."

Security minister Baroness Neville-Jones urged: "When you have incitement to murder, when you have people calling for the killing of fellow citizens and when you have the means to stop that person doing so, I believe we should act."

But despite the steps to cull the extremist clips, scores more remained on YouTube last night, with inflammatory titles such as Al-Qaeda - Who Are We, Why We Fight.

Fanatics showed similar defiance at yesterday's sentencing in London, hurling abuse at the judge and Choudhry's victim, former Labour minister Stephen Timms.

Some yelled: "Curse the judge!" and "Go to hell!" before being bundled out of the Old Bailey. They taunted one Muslim juror in a veil: "Shame on you, sister!" Outside, an extremist held up a placard reading: "Stephen Timms, Go To Hell."

Choudhry showed her contempt by again shunning the hearing as she refuses to accept the court's authority. The terrorist appeared via videolink and appeared to smirk as the protesters were led out.

She will be eligible for parole in 15 years if she renounces her warped views and is no longer a threat to society. Mr Justice Cooke urged her to "repent".

He pointed out she had been calm and calculated as she tried to murder the MP and had shown no remorse. He said it was impossible to say whether she would come to her senses or "go to your grave considering it right to have tried to kill Mr Timms".


Victim: Stephen Timms has been MP for East Ham in east London since 1994

The judge told her: "You intended to kill in a political cause and to strike at those in government by doing so.

"You did so as a matter of deliberate decision making, however skewed your reasoning from listening to those Muslims who incite such action on the internet. You are only 21 and an intelligent young lady who has absorbed immoral ideas and wrong patterns of thinking and attitudes.

"It is not only possible, but I also hope you will come to understand the distorted nature of your thinking, the evil that you have done and planned to do and repent of it.

"You committed evil acts coolly and deliberately.

You have the opportunity to see those acts for what they are and change."

Choudhry, of East Ham, East London, had been tipped for a first-class English degree at King's College London.

But she quit the course after deciding to assassinate Mr Timms, 54, over his support for the Iraq War. She knifed him twice in the stomach at his East Ham constituency surgery in May but he made a full recovery.

Yesterday he too voiced dismay at the way she had been brainwashed by al-Awlaki's online rants.

The MP said: "My real worry is that a very bright young woman with everything to live for should reach the conclusion that she should throw it away by attempting to kill the local MP. It is puzzling and alarming that she seems to have reached the conclusion by spending some time on some website."

Us Congressman Anthony Weiner last week called on YouTube to cull more than 700 al-Awlaki videos.

He said: "We're facilitating recruitment of homegrown terror. There's no reason we should give killers like al-Awlaki access to one of the world's largest bully pulpits so they can inspire more violent acts within our borders or anywhere else."

Visitors to the site who tried to click on the already deleted videos were met with a message reading: "This video has been removed because its content violated YouTube's terms of service." But hundreds more still infest YouTube and other parts of the internet. The web giant said yesterday: "We have guidelines that prohibit dangerous or illegal activities such as bomb-making, hate speech or incitement to commit specific and serious acts of violence.

"We have removed a significant number of videos under these policies.

We are looking into new videos that have been raised with us."

Greece yesterday placed a 48-hour ban on mail leaving the country after the discovery there of at least 11 postal bombs addressed to French leader Nicolas Sarkozy and a number of foreign embassies in Athens.

From Jacko to jihad, the sermons of hate

Mchael Jackson is used by al-Awlaki in one sermon, viewed 40,000 times on YouTube, as an example to suggest jihadists shouldn't fear death. The Hereafter describes the women, mansions, and pleasures of paradise for the martyr.

In 44 Ways to Support Jihad, al-Awlaki tells followers: "The hatred of Kafir (non-believers) is a central element of our military creed. We need to realise that Allah will not grant us victory as long as we still have some love towards his enemies in our hearts. Jihad is obligatory on every Muslim. "It must be practised by the child even if the parents refuse; by the wife even if the husband objects."

In another rant, he says the US military's efforts in Bosnia and Kuwait in the 90s were under the false pretext of human rights.


mirror.co.uk
 
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