Beheading of a British soldier on a London street foiled in the...

Beheading of a British soldier on a London street foiled in the last minute

This post is also available in: heעברית (Hebrew)

London police

Nineteen-year-old Brusthom Ziamani has been sentenced to twenty-seven years in prison after being found guilty of planning to behead a British soldier on the streets of London. This act is similar to Michael Adebolajo’s killing of Fusilier Lee Rigby. Ziamani was arrested on an east London street last August when a counterterrorism officer stopped him.

On him, Ziamani had an Islamic State (ISIS) flag, a knife and a hammer, having earlier researched the location of nearby Army cadet bases. This is in line with the heightened alert British and other intelligence agencies called around that time, cautioning soldiers and officers not to be seen in uniform outside base.

“Had the defendant not been arrested on August 19th, then within a matter of hours he would’ve used the hammer and knife to carry out the intention he had expressed and for which he had so determinedly prepared,” said Judge Timothy Pontius. “The result being that a horrifying act of savagery had again been committed on the streets of London in imitation of Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale,” added the judge. According to a report in The Telegraph, Judge Pontious also said Ziamani had acted out of “explicit admiration” for the acts he sought to imitate.

Register to iHLS Israel Homeland Security

In his verdict, the judge concluded, inter alia, that “it is entirely justifiable that the defendant was looking for another Lee Rigby.” This is a reference to the 22 May 2013 murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers by Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale near the Royal Artillery Barracks southeast London

The Telegraph also reports that Ziamani Jehovah’s Witness parents kicked him out of home for converting to Islam. He then turned to extremists in the radical Islamic group al-Muhajiroun (ALM), which gave him money, clothes, and a place to live. Months after joining ALM, he posted comments on Facebook that he was “willing to die in the cause of Allah” and saying: “Sharia law on its way on our streets. We will implement it, it is part of our religion.”

According to the HomeLand Security News Wire, Ziamani has denied the charge of preparing to commit an act of terrorism on or before 20 August 2014. He explained his Facebook postings as an attempt to “fit in” with ALM because they provided him housing.