Abu Hamza al-Masri

In this Arabic name, the name "al-Masri" is a laqab, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given names "Abu Hamza" or "Hamza" (but never "Abu").
Abu Hamza al-Masri

An early picture of Abu Hamza al-Masri, prior to losing an eye and both hands in an explosion
Born Mustafa Kamel Mustafa
(1958-04-15) 15 April 1958
Alexandria, United Arab Republic
Residence Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, Springfield[1]
Nationality Egyptian[2]
Religion Wahhabi Islam[3]

Mustafa Kamel Mustafa (Arabic: مصطفى كامل مصطفى‎; born 15 April 1958), also known as Abu Hamza al-Masri (i/ɑːbuː ˈhʌmzə ɑːl ˈmɑːsˌriː/ أبو حمزة المصري, Abū Ḥamzah al-Maṣrī – literally, the Egyptian father of Hamza), or simply Abu Hamza, is an Egyptian cleric who was the imam of Finsbury Park Mosque in London, England, where he preached Islamic fundamentalism and militant Islamism.

In 2004, Hamza was arrested by British police after the United States requested he be extradited to face charges. He was later charged by British authorities with sixteen offences for inciting violence and racial hatred.[4] In 2006, a British court found him guilty of inciting violence, and sentenced him to seven years' imprisonment. On 5 October 2012, after an eight-year legal battle, he was extradited from the UK to the United States to face terrorism charges[5][6] and on 14 April 2014 his trial began in New York.[7] On 19 May 2014, Hamza was found guilty of eleven terrorism charges by a federal jury in Manhattan. On 9 January 2015, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.[8]

Background

Hamza was born in Alexandria, Egypt, as Mustafa Kamel Mustafa in 1958, the son of a middle-class army officer. In 1979, he entered Britain on a student visa.[9] His initial reaction to life in Britain was to describe it as "a paradise, where you could do anything you wanted."[10] He studied civil engineering at Brighton Polytechnic College.[11] In the early 1990s, Hamza lived in Bosnia under another name, and fought alongside Bosniaks against Serbs and Croats during the Bosnian War.[12][13]

Hamza, who has one eye and no hands, once claimed he lost them fighting Soviet forces in Afghanistan.[14] CNN reported they were "injuries he says he sustained while tackling a landmine in Afghanistan."[15] Among several accounts that take issue with Hamza's story,[16][17] BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera's introduction to Omar Nasiri's memoir Inside the Jihad: My Life with Al Qaeda says Hamza "boosted his credibility" with rumours he sustained the injuries fighting jihad; also that Nasiri knew they resulted from "an accident during experiments in a training camp", and Hamza asked Nasiri "to keep this secret in order to avoid undermining his reputation."[18] During his trial in the United States, Hamza stated that his injuries occurred whilst working with explosives with the Pakistani military in Lahore.[19] The UK tabloid press have nicknamed him "Hook" in allusion to the fictional pirate Captain Hook.[20][21][22]

Family

On 16 May 1980, Hamza married British citizen Valerie Fleming, a Roman Catholic convert to Islam,[23] and they had a son, Mohammed Mustafa Kamel. In 1984, they divorced and he married a woman with whom he has seven children.[24]

In 1999 Hamza's son Kamel, then 17 years old, was arrested in Yemen with Hamza’s stepson Mohsin Ghalain and eight other men. All were tried and convicted of planning a terrorist bombing campaign that the prosecution alleged Hamza had sent the men to carry out. Kamel and Ghalain received prison sentences of three and seven years respectively.[25][26]

Kamel, Ghalain, and Hamza’s son Mohamed Mostafa were convicted of fraud by a London court in 2009, and sentenced to prison terms.[27] Another son, Yasser Kamel, was sentenced to youth detention in 2010, for violent disorder at anti-Israel protests in 2009.[28] In 2012 Hamza’s son Imran Mostafa was convicted of armed robbery and illegal possession of a firearm with intent to commit an offence.[29]

Religious life

Hamza was the imam of Finsbury Park Mosque from 1997, and a leader of the Supporters of Sharia, a group that believed in a strict interpretation of Islamic law. On 14 September 1999 he sent an article to Al-Hayat, one of the largest pan-Arab newspapers, supporting the Russian apartment bombings, claiming that while "in a war, no one targets women and children in a war", these explosions were necessary as "a Muslim revenge for the Russian criminal policies in Chechnya". In 2003, he addressed a rally in central London called by the Islamic al-Muhajiroun, where members spoke of their support for Islamist goals such as the creation of a new Islamic caliphate and replacing the Western-backed Middle Eastern regimes. On 4 February 2003 (after being suspended since April 2002), Hamza was dismissed from his position at the Finsbury Park mosque by the Charity Commission,[30][31] the government department that regulates charities in England and Wales. After his exclusion from the mosque, he preached outside the gates until May 2004, when he was arrested at the start of US extradition proceedings against him (see below).[32]

Hamza publicly expressed support for Islamist goals such as creating a caliphate,[33] and for Osama bin Laden. He wrote a paper entitled El Ansar (The Victor) in which he expressed support for the actions of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) in Algeria, but he later rejected them when they started killing civilians.[34] In one sermon relating to the necessity of Jihad, he said: "Allah likes those who believe in Him who kill those who do not believe in Him. Allah likes that. So if you Muslims don’t like that because you hate the blood, there is something wrong with you."[35] He allegedly associated with Abdullah el-Faisal, a Jamaican Muslim convert cleric who preached in the UK until he was imprisoned for urging his followers to murder Jews, Hindus, Christians and Americans, subsequently being deported to Jamaica in 2007.[36]

Arrest, charges and imprisonment

On 26 August 2004, Hamza was arrested by British police under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which covers the instigation of acts of terrorism. Charges against him were dropped on 31 August 2004, but he was kept in jail whilst a US extradition case was developed and British authorities drew up further criminal charges of their own.[37] Almost two months later, on 19 October 2004, Hamza was charged with fifteen offences under the provisions of various British statutes, including encouraging the killing of non-Muslims, and intent to stir up racial hatred.[38] The trial commenced on 5 July 2005, but was adjourned, and not resumed until 9 January 2006. On 7 February 2006, he was found guilty on eleven charges and not guilty on four:

In sentencing, Mr Justice Hughes said Hamza had "helped to create an atmosphere in which to kill has become regarded by some as not only a legitimate course but a moral and religious duty in pursuit of perceived justice."[41] Abu Hamza was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment.

In September 2012, Frank Gardner revealed that Queen Elizabeth II had been upset some years earlier that Abu Hamza al-Masri could not be arrested.[42] The BBC apologised later that day for the revelation.[42]

Costs

On 18 January 2007, Lord Justice Hughes made an order for the recovery of the full costs of the court-appointed defence of the race-hate charges, estimated in excess of £1 million. This judgement was based on his view that "the story I have been told today (by Abu Hamza) is simply not true" that he [Abu Hamza] had no share in a £220,000 house in Greenford, west London. Hamza had claimed it belonged to his sister. The court also found that Abu Hamza was contributing £9000 a year for private education for his children.[43] The Daily Mail reported in 2009 that the TaxPayers' Alliance estimated that the father-of-eight Abu Hamza had so far cost Britain £2.75 million in welfare payments, council housing and legal costs.[44]

Extradition to the United States

On 27 May 2004, Hamza was detained on remand by British authorities and appeared before magistrates at the start of a process to try to extradite him to the United States. Yemen also requested his extradition. The United States wanted Hamza to stand trial for eleven counts relating to the taking of sixteen hostages in Yemen in 1998, advocating jihad in Afghanistan in 2001, supporting James Ujaama in an alleged attempt to establish a "terrorist training camp" in late 1999 and early 2000 near Bly, Oregon, and of providing aid to al-Qaeda.[45][46] Ujaama is a US citizen who had met Abu Hamza in England in 1999 and was indicted in the US for supposedly providing aid to al-Qaeda, attempting to establish a terrorist training camp, and for running a website advocating global jihad.[47] Abu Hamza was in Britain throughout the relevant period.

Hamza could not face the death penalty if extradited to the United States because the UK is a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). On 15 November 2007, British courts gave permission for Hamza's extradition to the US.[48][49] Abu Hamza appealed against this decision to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). In the meantime, Hamza was kept in prison after the completion of his sentence.

On 8 July 2010, the ECtHR temporarily blocked Hamza's extradition to the United States to face terrorism charges until the court was satisfied that he would not be treated inhumanely.[50] The court based its judgement on ECHR, which applies to British law. It is an absolute prohibition for a signatory to the ECHR to remove anyone to a place where they would be subject to inhumane or degrading treatment.[51] In past cases, the ECtHR has prevented the UK from deporting suspected foreign terrorists to places where they might be tortured. In Hamza's case, this has been extended to refusing extradition to a country where he might be jailed for life, and where the prison regime is judged too harsh. The court said there should be further legal argument on whether life without parole would be a breach of human rights. The court asked for fresh submissions on whether Hamza, and other prisoners awaiting extradition, would face inhumane treatment in the US if they were sent there to stand trial.[52]

On 24 September 2012, the court said he could be extradited to the US to face terrorism charges.[53] The court held "that conditions at ADX would not amount to ill-treatment" and also stated that "not all inmates convicted of international terrorism were housed at ADX and, even if they were, sufficient procedural safeguards were in place, such as holding a hearing before deciding on such a transfer" and that "if the transfer process had been unsatisfactory, there was the possibility of bringing a claim to both the Federal Bureau of Prisons' administrative remedy programme and the US federal courts",[54] referring to the 28 C.F.R. 542 Administrative Remedy Program. On 26 September 2012, a High Court judge halted the extradition of Hamza to the US on terror charges after the cleric launched a last-ditch appeal.[55] On 5 October 2012, the High Court granted the UK's government's request to extradite Hamza to the US.[56] The removal process took place that same evening, when Hamza was taken from Long Lartin jail to RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, where he was placed into the hands of the US Marshals.

Abu Hamza arrived in the US on the morning of 6 October 2012 to face eleven charges relating to hostage taking, conspiracy to establish a militant training camp and calling for holy war in Afghanistan. He appeared in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on 6 October and was then taken into custody. He appeared in court again on 9 October and pleaded not guilty to eleven charges.[57][58][59] On 14 April 2014 his trial opened with jury selection.[7] His lawyer, Joshua Dratel, claimed Abu Hamza cooperated with MI5 and the police to help interact with the British Muslim community.[60]

On 19 May 2014, Abu Hamza was found guilty of the terror charges. British Home Secretary Theresa May said that she was "pleased" that Abu Hamza had "finally faced justice".[61] Abu Hamza's defence lawyer claimed "beliefs are not a crime" and indicated that an appeal would be lodged.[62] On 9 January 2015, Hamza was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.[8][63]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Inmate Locator search for register number 67495-054. Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved 05 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "Britain: Citizenship Restored to Cleric Wanted on Terrorism Charges in U.S.". The New York Times. 6 November 2010.
  3. ↑ New York Jury Convicts Wahabi Cleric on 11 Counts of Terrorism, Jafria News, JNN 20 May 2014 New York
  4. ↑ Cowan, Rosie (20 October 2004). "Abu Hamza charged with inciting murders". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  5. ↑ Neumeister, Larry and Christofferson, John (6 October 2012). "5 terror suspects from UK appear in US courts". The Age. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012.
  6. ↑ FP Staff. "Abu Hamza to appear in US court". The First Post. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  7. 1 2 McVeigh, Karen (14 April 2014). "Abu Hamza to testify in New York terrorism trial as jury selection begins". The Guardian.
  8. 1 2 "Radical cleric Abu Hamza jailed for life by US court". BBC. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  9. ↑ Brooks, Libby (1 May 2003). "5 tough questions about asylum-part 2". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 18 March 2009.
  10. ↑ "BBC Four – Storyville". BBC. 25 November 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  11. ↑ Lawson, Tracy (21 January 2003). "As a fundamentalist cleric reviled and revered for his preaches of hate". The Scotsman. Retrieved 18 March 2009.
  12. ↑ Nun, Jan (8 February 2006). "U.K.: Muslim Extremist Preacher Gets Seven Years in Jail". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
  13. ↑ Naughton, Philippe (7 February 2006). "Profile: Abu Hamza". Times Online edition (London). Retrieved 21 March 2009.
  14. ↑ McVeigh, Karenn (14 April 2014). "Abu Hamza to testify in New York terrorism trial as jury selection begins". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  15. ↑ "Abu Hamza: Controversial Muslim figure". CNN. 27 May 2004. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  16. ↑ Horgan, John (15 May 2009). Walking Away from Terrorism: Accounts of Disengagement from Radical and Extremist Movements. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-203-87473-8. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  17. ↑ O'Neill, Sean; McGrory, Daniel (2006). The Suicide Factory: Abu Hamza and the Finsbury Park Mosque. HarperPerennial. pp. 21–29. ISBN 978-0-007-23469-1.
  18. ↑ "Nasiri, Omar" (2006). Inside the Jihad: My Life with Al Qaeda - A Spy's Story. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-02388-2. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  19. ↑ "Profile: Abu Hamza". BBC News. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  20. ↑ Frost, Martin (2006). "Abu Hamza al-Masri". Martin Frost’s former web site. Archived from the original on 17 December 2009.
  21. ↑ Holden, Michael (10 April 2012). "Hook-handed Hamza: much more than a James Bond villain". Reuters. Archived from the original on 10 April 2012.
  22. ↑ Hume, Mick (28 April 2004). "So Captain ‘Hamza’ Hook is a threat? Oh no he isn’t! (original), Hamza Hook: a panto villain (reprint)". The Times (via Spiked-online.com). Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. The original article in The Times is available by subscription.
  23. ↑ "Hamza's ex-wife life threatened". BBC. 8 February 2006. Retrieved 18 March 2009.
  24. ↑ Casciani, Dominic (7 February 2006). "Profile: Abu Hamza". BBC. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  25. ↑ "Britons convicted of Yemen bomb plot". BBC News. 9 August 1999. Archived from the original on 17 June 2013.
  26. ↑ "Abu Hamza and the Islamic Army: Day by Day: A chronology of events surrounding the "bomb plot" and kidnapping". Albab. 11 March 2000. Archived from the original on 25 May 2000.
  27. ↑ "Mohammed Chiadmi, 31, from Maida Vale; his brother Abdul Chiadmi, 22, from Ladbroke Grove; Khalid Jebari, 22, from Pimlico; and Hamza Mrimou, 27, from Feltham admitted fraud, handling stolen goods and money laundering.""Abu Hamza's cat scam sons jailed". BBC News. 28 May 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
  28. ↑ Rebecca Camber (1 July 2010). "Son of hate preacher Abu Hamza jailed for attacking police at London demonstration". Daily Mail. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  29. ↑ Alex Ward (28 August 2012). "Abu Hamza's son Imran Mostafa stole £70,000 jewellery in armed robbery". Daily Mail. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  30. ↑ "Mosque raid findings revealed". BBC News. 7 February 2006.
  31. ↑ Casciani, Dominic; Sakr, Sharif (7 February 2006). "The battle for the mosque". BBC News.
  32. ↑ Casciani, Dominic (27 May 2004). "Profile: Abu Hamza al-Masri". BBC. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  33. ↑ Oneill, Sean (13 January 2006). "Abu Hamzas video call to arms". The Times (London).
  34. ↑ "The Algerian Question", Algeria: Anger of the Dispossessed, Yale University Press, John Phillips and Martin Evans, 2007, p. 222.
  35. ↑ Salafimedia.com "Join the Victorious Party (Part l)".
  36. ↑ Thackrah, John Richard (2004). Dictionary of terrorism. Routledge. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-415-29820-9. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  37. ↑ "Muslim cleric Hamza de-arrested". BBC News (BBC). 31 August 2004. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  38. ↑ "Cleric faces trial on 16 charges". CNN. 1 August 2006. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  39. 1 2 3 "Abu Hamza convicted of eleven charges". Crown Prosecution Service. 2 July 2006.
  40. ↑ Vikram Dodd (12 January 2006). "Islamic cleric had terror handbook, court told". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  41. ↑ Campbell, Duncan (9 February 2006). "'Preacher of hate' jailed in Britain". The Age (Australia). Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  42. 1 2 "BBC apology to Queen over Abu Hamza disclosure". BBC News. 25 September 2012.
  43. ↑ "Abu Hamza must pay £1m for trial". BBC. 18 January 2007. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  44. ↑ Taxpayers' Alliance estimates on Abu Hamza's cost to the British taxpayer Archived 18 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  45. ↑ Whitehead, Tom (24 September 2012). "Abu Hamza could be out of Britain in days after losing extradition appeal". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012.
  46. ↑ "Abu Hamza arrested in London on terrorism charges files in the United States.". United States Department of Justice. 27 May 2004. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  47. ↑ "From community activist to alleged terror conspirator". CNN. 29 August 2002.
  48. ↑ "Abu Hamza could face extradition". BBC. 15 November 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  49. ↑ Hughes, Simon (20 June 2008). "Abu Hamza will be sent packing to America straight after serving his jail sentence in Britain". The Sun. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  50. ↑ Dodd, Vikram (8 July 2010). "Abu Hamza extradition to US blocked by European court". The Guardian (London).
  51. ↑ "Abu Hamza extradition to US blocked on human rights grounds". The Daily Telegraph (London). 8 July 2010.
  52. ↑ "Yemen seeks Abu Hamza's extradition.(UPI Top Stories)". UPI News. 29 May 2004.
  53. ↑ Hue, Sylvia. "UK TO EXTRADITE RADICAL MUSLIM CLERIC TO US". Associated Press. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  54. ↑ Hall, John (10 April 2012). "Court rejects claims that extraditing Abu Hamza to the US would breach his human rights". The Independent. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  55. ↑ "Abu Hamza: High Court judge halts extradition to the US". BBC. 26 September 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  56. ↑ Casciani, Dominic (5 October 2012). "Abu Hamza to be extradited to US". BBC News. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012.
  57. ↑ Roth, Richard and Smith, Olivia (9 October 2012). "Radical Islamist Abu Hamza al-Masri pleads not guilty". CNN. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012.
  58. ↑ "Abu Hamza due in US court following extradition". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012.
  59. ↑ Leithead, Alastair (7 October 2012). "Abu Hamza extradition: US court hears terror suspects". BBC News. Archived from the original on 24 March 2013.
  60. ↑ "Abu Hamza 'secretly worked for MI5' to 'keep streets of London safe'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014.
  61. ↑ "Abu Hamza: Home Secretary Theresa May hails guilty verdict". BBC News. 20 May 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  62. ↑ Ax, Joseph (19 May 2014). "London imam Abu Hamza convicted of US terrorism charges". Reuters. Archived from the original on 19 May 2014.
  63. ↑ Woolf, Nicky (9 January 2015). "Abu Hamza sentenced to life in prison on US terrorism conviction". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 January 2015.

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