Posted on 01/08/2006 7:45:04 PM PST by Aussie Dasher
RADICAL cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri goes on trial in London today on 16 charges of stirring up racial hatred and urging the killing of non-Muslims.
Hamza, who is also wanted by the US, will be the most high-profile figure to be tried in Britain charged with such offences since the September 11 attacks on Washington and New York.
The Egyptian-born cleric faces 10 charges of using public meetings to incite his followers to kill non-Muslims. Four of the charges say he urged the killing of Jews.
He is also accused of using threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour with intent to stir up racial hatred, one charge of possessing threatening, abusive or insulting sound recordings, and one charge under anti-terrorism laws.
If found guilty, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Hamza, usually pictured with a steel hook on his right arm after losing both hands and an eye in Afghanistan fighting Soviet forces, has long been a target of Britain's tabloid newspapers.
US authorities, who have requested the extradition of the former nightclub security guard on 11 charges, have had their case put on hold until the British trial at the Old Bailey in London is completed. It is expected to last three weeks.
A muzzie's gotta do what a muzzie's gotta do:
Jihad is 'Muslim obligation' Dec 20 2005
A lawyer defending al Qaida-linked suspects standing trial for the 2003 suicide bombings in Istanbul told a court that jihad, or holy war, was an obligation for Muslims and his clients should not be prosecuted.
"If you punish them for this, tomorrow, will you punish them for fasting or for praying?" Osman Karahan -- a lawyer representing 14 of the 72 suspects -- asked during a nearly four-hour speech in which he read religious texts from an encyclopedia of Islam.
The November 2003 blasts targeted two synagogues, the British Consulate and the local headquarters of the London-based HSBC bank, killing 58 people.
The Arabic word jihad can mean holy war among extremists in addition to its definition as the Islamic concept of the struggle to do good.
Karahan spoke for three hours at the court in Istanbul.
"If non-Muslims go into Muslim lands, it is every Muslim's obligation to fight them," Karahan said.
A panel of three judges for the fiercely secular Turkish Republic listened to Karahan patiently, without speaking, as the defence lawyer read from four thick file folders.
Twenty-nine of the suspects were brought to the courthouse for the hearing, handcuffed and escorted by paramilitary police. They sat in the middle of the courtroom, surrounded by police.
More than a dozen other lawyers were also present but only Karahan spoke in the morning session.
Later in the day, several defendants acknowledged receiving training at foreign camps for Islamic militants or making plans to carry out acts of extremist violence, but all but one denied a link to the Istanbul bombings or to al Qaida.
"More than a DOZEN other lawyers"...this bloke must be made of money!
All paid for through the charity of the 'widows and orphans fund' no doubt. In Australia one can't buy a kebab from a Turkish establishment without being confronted by a collection box. Money is the least of their problems. I no longer patronise any business operated by muslims.
It's not been a deliberate decision, but I don't think I ever have. Not too many moozies where I live.
Not many where I am either, but almost every kebab shop I have patronised in the past has been operated by Turks. One in particular always displayed a picture of Ataturk, there was no collection box until the business was sold and then Ataturk disappeared, his place was taken by a huge wooden carving of crossed swords and out came the collection box. I stopped eating kebabs - the swords gave me the chills.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.