'Assassin stabbed MP over Iraq war'

[sunsanḍ̣̣̣̣]

'Assassin stabbed MP over Iraq war'

By MIKE SULLIVAN
Published: Today

A FEMALE assassin in black clothing, a headscarf and veil stabbed MP Stephen Timms twice in revenge for voting for the Iraq war, a court heard yesterday.

Student Roshonara Choudhry, 21, approached the Labour politician with her left hand outstretched. As he stood to greet her, she used her other hand to plunge a knife into his stomach, the Old Bailey heard. The court heard that Mr Timms asked Choudhry: "Why did you do that?" - before she stabbed him again. She later told police she intended to kill former Treasury minister Mr Timms, MP for East Ham, East London, as a punishment for his stance on the war.

Victim ... Stephen Timms

She told cops: "I was hoping to get revenge for the people of Iraq. I was not going to stop until someone made me. I wanted to kill him." Mr Timms was taken to hospital after the alleged attack at a constituency surgery in Beckton - eight days after the general election last May. He had the largest Labour majority in the country.

Choudhry, of East Ham, refused to attend the hearing and her lawyer told jurors she does not recognise the jurisdiction of the court. Jeremy Dein QC said: "Ms Choudhry does not wish us to challenge the evidence and does not wish to give evidence. "In those circumstances, we don't propose to play any active part in this trial." Choudhry has previously denied attempted murder and possessing offensive weapons.

The MP told the court he was sitting at a desk when Choudhry approached and motioned for her to sit on a chair. He said: "She didn't sit down. She continued to come forward. I thought she was coming to shake my hand. She looked friendly and was smiling." Mr Timms said Choudhry then lunged at him. An assistant grabbed the knife. The trial is expected to end today.


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[bumblebee]

Stephen Timms knife attack: CCTV shows moment Muslim woman stabs MP

This is the moment caught on CCTV when Roshonara Choudhry stabbed former Labour minister Stephen Timms in the stomach.

By Caroline Gammell
Published: 3:09PM GMT 02 Nov 2010

CCTV shows Roshonara Choudhry, right, waiting to meet Stephen Timms. Her right hand is concealed Photo: Metropolitan Police

Choudhry, bottom left, reveals her right hand Photo: Metropolitan Police

The knife in Choudhry's hand, bottom left of picture Photo: Metropolitan Police

Choudhry is restrained Photo: Metropolitan Police

Anwar al-Awlaki is thought to be hiding in southern Yemen Photo: AP

Mr Timms, Labour MP for East Ham Photo: REUTERS

Armed with a three-inch kitchen knife, the 21-year-old student smiled before plunging the knife twice into the MP. Grainy images filmed in the local community centre and released on Tuesday show Choudhry walking up to Mr Timms’ desk.

They emerged at the end of a two-day trial in which she was convicted of attempted murder and two counts of possessing an offensive weapon. Choudhry refused to go to the Old Bailey because she did not accept the authority of the court and will be sentenced via videolink on Wednesday.

The CCTV footage of the attack showed her wearing floor length black Islamic robes, her head covered by a scarf and her face can be clearly seen. With a bag slung casually over her shoulder, the bespectacled Choudhry strolled up to the desk after her name was called out.

Instead of sitting in front of the MP, she moved round to the side of the desk as if to shake hands, but was in fact holding a knife in her left hand.
As he offered his hand, she decided to strike. In one image, the blade can be clearly seen as she moved towards Mr Timms.

The footage was edited so that actual impact of the stabbing was not shown in court, but the jury was given stills from the CCTV. From these pictures, the MP could be seen to recoil from the attack and fall away from Choudhry. The whole attack lasted little more than a second before the attacker was hauled away by Faisall Butt, a security guard.

The images showed her being grabbed around the shoulders and others in the community centre looked on in horror. A mother standing behind a pushchair half turned in disbelief as she witnessed the attack. Andrew Bazeley, Mr Timms’ assistant, also saw the attack and managed to prise the weapon from Choudhry’s hand.

Inspired by Anwar al-Awlaki, the US born radical al-Qaeda cleric, the student launched her attack less than a week after the General Election. She told police she wanted to "punish" Mr Timms for supporting the Iraq war. Analysis of her computer revealed that she had also lined up a hit list of other MPs to target by researching their voting records.

When she was searched, a knife with a five-inch blade was found wrapped in a red towel in her bag. She told police she she had taken two knives - which were found to have been both newly purchased and "razor sharp" - in case one broke during the attack. She said she had chosen to stab him in the stomach because she was not strong and it was a soft part of the body.

 

[Kotaro Fuma]

Student jailed for life over Al Qaeda-inspired MP stabbing as ministers demand U.S. websites ban jihadi sermons

Last updated at 12:11 PM on 3rd November 2010

• Student radicalised after watching online sermons by Anwar al-Awlaki
• Home Office confirms pressure being put on White House to remove videos

A student who tried to murder a Labour MP after being inspired by a radical Al Qaeda cleric linked to the air cargo bomb plot was jailed for life with a minimum term of 15 years today.

Roshonara Choudhry, 21, stabbed Stephen Timms twice in the stomach after watching online jihadi sermons by US-born extremist Anwar al-Awlaki. Her attack on the former Treasury minister is thought to be the first Al Qaeda-inspired attempt to assassinate a politician on British soil.

She knifed East Ham MP Mr Timms as he held a constituency surgery at the Beckton Globe community centre in east London on May 14, smiling and pretending she was going to shake hands with him before plunging the knife into his body.

Her sentence came after Britain's security minister urged the U.S. to shut down websites hosting Al Qaeda videos. Baroness Neville-Jones said websites which try to radicalise members of the public would 'categorically not be allowed in the UK' and would be torn down.

Choudhry became radicalised after reading literature from radical Al Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki

Seconds away: Roshonara Choudhry (bottom left hand corner) pulls a knife before plunging it into Labour MP Stephen Timms during a visit to his constituency surgery

Thousands of postings featuring Awlaki's videos are available to view online. In one sermon, entitled 44 Ways To Support Jihad, he says: 'Jihad today is obligatory on every capable Muslim'. The Home Office has confirmed that pressure is being put on the White House to remove the sermons. Student Choudhry told detectives she attacked Mr Timms as a 'punishment' and 'to get revenge for the people of Iraq'. After her arrest she was revealed to be in possession of a hit list of other politicians who had voted for the war.

The 21-year-old was believed to have been acting alone after becoming radicalised watching online sermons by Awlaki, who has been linked to the cargo plane bomb plot sent from Yemen. She had been a moderate Muslim student looking forward to a career in teaching before watching the videos. Mr Justice Cooke, sentencing Choudhry, said: 'You said you ruined the rest of your life. You said it was worth it. You said you wanted to be a martyr'. The judge said Choudhry would continue to be a danger to Members of Parliament for the foreseeable future.

The judge said that if Choudhry had succeeded in killing Mr Timms he would have given her a whole-life sentence, meaning she would never be released. He 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 reasons, from listening to those Muslims who incite such action on the internet. 'You are an intelligent young lady who has absorbed immoral ideas and wrong patterns of thinking and attitudes.

Baroness Neville-Jones, who has called for the removal of websites featuring jihadi sermons

Labour MP Stephen Timms, who was stabbed by a woman who had been radicalised watching one of these videos

'It is not only possible, but I also hope that 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 do not suffer from any mental disease. You have simply committed evil acts coolly and deliberately'. Awlaki is also thought to be behind a mass shooting at a US army base in Fort Hood, Texas, as well as the failed Deroit underpants bomb plot on Christmas Day last year. A source said: 'Choudhry had researched the voting records of a number of MPs around the Iraq war.'

In private comments to the Brookings Institute in Washington, obtained by The Daily Telegraph, Lady Neville-Jones said: 'When you have incitement to murder, when you have people actively calling for the killing of fellow citizens and when you have the means to stop that person doing so, then I believe we should act. 'Those websites would categorically not be allowed in the UK. 'They incite cold-blooded murder and as such are surely contrary to the public good. 'If they were hosted in the UK then we would take them down but this is a global problem.'

How it all panned out: Choudhry is seen entering the office (right), dressed in a veil and carrying a bag which concealed her knives

Moment of impact: Choudhry (bottom left-hand corner) plunges a knife into Mr Timms (just out of shot)

Choudhry stabbed East Ham MP Mr Timms as he held a surgery at the Beckton Globe community centre on May 14. The student smiled and pretended she was going to shake hands with the former Government minister before knifing him twice in the stomach. Choudhry, of East Ham, was convicted of attempted murder and two knife possession charges by an Old Bailey jury yesterday.

The court heard that Mr Timms, 55, Labour MP for East Ham, has since made a full recovery. Choudhry was due to appear via videolink for sentence today. The jury retired for just 14 minutes before returning the guilty verdicts, in what was described as an 'unusual' case by the judge, Mr Justice Cooke. Choudhry, who refused to go to court, had told her barrister Jeremy Dein QC that she did not accept its jurisdiction, and did not wish him to challenge the prosecution case.

There were no closing speeches by Mr Dein or prosecutor William Boyce QC and the evidence was concluded in about half a day on Monday before the judge gave a short summing up and sent the jury out yesterday. The court heard that Choudhry was dressed all in black when she went to see the MP, for a pre-booked appointment, shortly after 3pm on May 14.

Mr Timms said: 'She looked friendly. She was smiling, if I remember rightly. 'I was a little puzzled because a Muslim woman dressed in that way wouldn't normally be willing to shake a man's hand, still less to take the initiative to do so, but that is what she was doing. 'She lunged at me with her right hand.'

Reverse angle: In this image, Choudhry (in black on the left) is seen approaching Mr Timms (standing, in a purple jumper) with her left hand outstretched. Her right hand is concealed in a bag

Restrained: A security guard grabs hold of Choudhry in a bear hug to stop her attack

'I think I knew that I had been stabbed although I didn't feel anything and I can't recall actually seeing a knife but I think I said "She has a knife" or words to that effect. 'I attempted to push away the second lunge but was not successful.' 'I retreated into the gents' toilet and lifted up my jumper and realised there was quite a lot of blood there so I realised I had been stabbed.'

Anwar al-Awlaki, believed to be based in Yemen, has used his personal website to encourage Muslims around the world to kill U.S. troops in Iraq

The MP's assistant Andrew Bazeley prised the kitchen knife away from Choudhry and she was placed in a 'bear hug' by a security guard before police arrived. Another knife was found in her bag. When asked by police why she had stabbed him twice, Choudhry said: 'I was not going to stop until someone made me. I wanted to kill him... I was going to get revenge for the people of Iraq.'

The court heard that Choudhry was 'anxious' as she waited for the MP to arrive at the centre and asked security guard Faisal Butt where he was. Mr Boyce, prosecuting, said that, when she went in to see Mr Timms, she 'moved around the desk towards him' and he thought it was to shake his hand. 'He put out his hand accordingly. The defendant put out her left hand as if to shake his.

'But it was a ruse, because in her right hand, which she had concealed behind her bag and/or clothing, she had a kitchen knife with a three-inch blade.' Choudhry told police: 'I purposefully walked round the side of the desk so I could get close to him. 'He pointed for me to sit down on the chair but instead I walked towards him with my left hand out as if I wanted to shake his hand.

'Then I pulled the knife out of my bag and I hit him in the stomach with it. I put it in the top part of his stomach like when you punch someone. 'I was trying to kill him because he wanted to invade Iraq.' Asked why, she answered: 'Punishment.'

'He shouted at me "What was that for?" I think I stabbed him again. I think I did it twice. I tried to attack him again. People started to scream.' A knife with a five-inch blade was found wrapped in a red towel. Choudhry said she had taken two knives - which were found to have been both newly purchased and 'razor sharp' - in case one broke during the attack.

The knives recovered from Choudhry. She stabbed Mr Timms with the top knife and brought the second weapon as a back-up in case the first broke

She said she had chosen to stab him in the stomach because she was not strong and it was a soft part of the body. Prosecutor Mr Boyce said Choudhry was not suffering from mental illness. After the stabbing, Mr Timms was given first aid before being taken to the Royal London Hospital.

He had suffered two small lacerations to the left of his liver, and a small perforation of the stomach - injuries which could have been life-threatening due to possible loss of blood and infection had he not been treated. Jurors were shown CCTV images of what happened featuring the 'black figure' of Choudhry and Mr Timms in a purple jumper.

The MP could be seen 'courteously' standing to greet her, said Mr Boyce. 'He thinks she is there on constituency business.' Mr Boyce said that, within seconds, a knife could be seen protruding from her right hand and the MP then 'reeling and staggering' away. She could later be seen held in a 'bear hug' by Mr Butt, he said.


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