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Agence France-Presse

A London jury on Monday unanimously found Islamic State group follower Ali Harbi Ali guilty of murdering British lawmaker David Amess in a ferocious knife attack in October last year.
Ali told the trial that he had no regrets about killing father-of-five Amess after he voted in parliament for air strikes in Syria in 2014 and 2015.
The court at London’s Old Bailey heard that Ali, 26, stabbed Amess more than 20 times with a foot-long (30cm) carving knife in Leigh-on-Sea, southeast England.
It took the jury just 18 minutes to reach a verdict on charges of murder and preparing acts of terrorism. He is to be sentenced on Wednesday.

Members of Amess’s family were in court as the verdict was read out, during which Ali refused to stand on religious grounds.
Ali, from north London, arranged an appointment with Amess, 69, by telling the politician’s office that he was a healthcare worker and wished to talk about local issues.
Knife-wielding Ali was apprehended at the scene of the murder in a church by two police officers armed only with batons and spray. He had sent a manifesto to family and friends to try to justify his actions around the time of the attack.
The court heard that Ali said “sorry” to Amess before killing him, after which his assistant Julie Cushion said he appeared “self-satisfied”.
UK MPs could be given police protection for public meetings
During police interviews, Ali said that Amess suspected a “sting”, having been duped in the 1990s into talking about a made-up drug named “cake” during an episode of satirical television series Brass Eye.
“I felt like one minute I was sat down at the table talking to him and the next he was, sort of, dead,” Ali told police. “But, yeah, it’s probably one of the strangest days … of my life now, you know?”
Jurors were told Ali had no mental health issues and he accepted much of the evidence against him.
The murder was the second killing of a British MP in five years and prompted calls for better security for elected representatives. In 2016, a right-wing extremist who shouted “Britain first” shot and stabbed Labour lawmaker Jo Cox to death in the heated run-up to the Brexit referendum.

The court heard how Ali had become self-radicalised in 2014, going on to drop out of university, abandoning ambitions for a career in medicine.
Ali, who came from a Somali family and said he had a childhood “full of love and care”, considered travelling to Syria to fight but opted instead for an attack in Britain.
He bought a knife six years ago which he carried in his bag throughout the summer of 2021 as he “scoped out” possible targets, jurors heard. He scouted parliament but found police there “armed to the teeth”, the court heard.
Ali carried out online research on other MPs, including senior Conservative Michael Gove. He staked out Gove’s London home but rejected plans to murder him after Gove split up with his wife and moved out of the family home.
British lawmaker David Amess stabbed to death in terrorist attack
Amess was a long-serving member of parliament for Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ruling Conservative Party.
The widower of murdered MP Cox said after Ali’s verdict that all the murder had achieved politically was “to allow millions of people to learn about David’s decency and the causes he cared about”.
“Terrorists may cite different ideologies. But what unites them is their desire for infamy, their cowardly attacks on the unarmed and the total failure to advance their cause,” Brendan Cox tweeted.

Terrorists may cite different ideologies. But what unites them is their desire for infamy, their cowardly attacks on the unarmed and the total failure to advance their cause. All of my thoughts & love are with David’s family today.
— Brendan Cox (@MrBrendanCox) April 11, 2022

A postmortem examination showed Amess suffered 21 stab wounds to his face, arms, legs and torso, as well as injuries to both hands that were consistent with defending himself, the court heard.
Hundreds of locals turned out in seaside town Southend to pay their respects after his death.
Pope Francis praised the Catholic lawmaker’s “devoted public service” in a special message read out at his funeral.


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Islamic State

Isis ‘lone wolf’ found guilty of murdering British MP David Amess

A candle and a portrait of British MP David Amess, who was stabbed to death during a meeting with constituents, are seen at a church in Leigh-on-Sea in October. Photo: Reuters

Ali Harbi Ali in the dock at the Old Bailey in London, where he faces trial for the murder of MP David Amess. Courtroom sketch: Elizabeth Cook/PA via AP

Well-wishers light candles during a vigil in October in memory of British lawmaker David Amess, who was fatally stabbed in Leigh-on-Sea in southeast England. Photo: AFP

British lawmaker David Amess stabbed to death in terrorist attack

Floral tributes are placed near the Belfairs Methodist Church in Britain, where lawmaker David Amess was stabbed to death. Photo: EPA-EFE

15 October 2021, United Kingdom, Leigh-On-Sea: The Union flags above Downing Street have been lowered to half mast after Conservative lawmaker Sir David Amess has died after he was stabbed several times at a constituency surgery. Photo: James Manning/PA Wire/dpa

FILE PHOTO: Britain's MP Sir David Amess attends a Prime Minister's Questions session in the House of Commons, in London, Britain January 15, 2020. ©UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY./File Photo

The MP for Southend West, David Amess, who was stabbed to death on Friday during an event in his local constituency in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, southeast England. Photo: AFP

Four dead in Israel stabbing, car-ramming, suspect shot by locals

Police said the attacker careened his car into a person and stabbed others across a swath of the city center in Beersheba. Photo: Xinhua

Police at the scene of the attack. Photo: AP

‘Lone wolf terrorist’ attack on busy Hong Kong street leaves assailant dead, police officer in serious condition

The officer was attacked in Causeway Bay. Photo: SCMP

Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung and Police Commissioner Raymond Siu Chak-yee meet the media at Queen Mary Hospital. Photo: Edmond So

As the force banned the setting up of street booths in Causeway Bay, at least five civic groups and a political party moved to neighboring Wanchai to hand out flyers.Citizensâ Radio set up a booth outside the Wanchai MTR station and displayed faces of the dozens of pro-democracy figures now behind bars, with words âhang in there comrades till dawnâ. 01JUL21 SCMP/ Natalie Wong

Police officers stand guard at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay during 24th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). 01JUL21 Photo: SCMP/ Dickson Lee

Video Grab shows the attack. A man was arrested after he allegedly stabbed a police officer in Causeway Bay. A police source said the man stabbed the uniformed officer in the left arm outside the Sogo department store in Causeway Bay in the evening. 01JUL21

Cops stop and check journalists as well as pedestrians outside Causeway Bay MTR Photo: Xiaomei Chan

Police officers are seen inside Fashion Walk shopping mall in Causeway Bay. 01JUL21 SCMP/ Xiaomei Chen

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Ali Harbi Ali told the court he had no regrets about killing the lawmaker in a ferocious knife attack, in which Amess was stabbed over 20 times
It took the jury only 18 minutes to reach a verdict on charges of murder and preparing acts of terrorism; Ali is to be sentenced on Wednesday



Ali Harbi Ali told the court he had no regrets about killing the lawmaker in a ferocious knife attack, where the victim was stabbed over 20 times.


Isis ‘lone wolf’ found guilty of murdering British MP David Amess

Ali Harbi Ali told the court he had no regrets about killing the lawmaker in a ferocious knife attack, in which Amess was stabbed over 20 times It took the jury only 18 minutes to reach a verdict on charges of murder and preparing acts of terrorism; Ali is to be sentenced on Wednesday

Ali Harbi Ali told the court he had no regrets about killing the lawmaker in a ferocious knife attack, in which Amess was stabbed over 20 times

It took the jury only 18 minutes to reach a verdict on charges of murder and preparing acts of terrorism; Ali is to be sentenced on Wednesday