Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !

Britain

Britain: Beheading plot ringleader Parviz Khan jailed for life

2008-02-18

... or 14 years, or whatever a lenient judge figures is a good, round number. Muslim fanatic Parviz Khan, who plotted to kidnap and kill a British Muslim soldier, has been jailed for life and told he will serve a minimum of 14 years. Khan, 37, of Alum Rock, Birmingham, admitted to planning to lure the soldier off the streets with the promise of drugs and film his beheading. He also pleaded guilty at Leicester Crown Court via video link from prison to supplying equipment to terrorists in Pakistan and two counts of being in possession of a record or document likely to be of use to a terrorist. Opening the case against Khan last week, prosecutor Nigel Rumfitt QC revealed Khan was recorded by a listening device at his home as he taught his five-year-old son how to carry out a beheading. "My son, Sesame Street is the tool of Satan!" Mr Rumfitt told the court Khan was at the hub of a terrorist cell based in Birmingham which had organised four shipments of equipment to terrorists based in Pakistan but operating against coalition forces in Afghanistan. Mr Rumfitt said of Khan: "He was enraged by the notion that there are Muslim soldiers in the British Army. "As your Lordship knows, there are many soldiers from many countries who serve with our forces - some of them are Muslims from the Gambia in west Africa. "Khan decided to kidnap such a soldier with the help of drug dealers operating in Birmingham. He would be taken to a lock-up garage and there he would be murdered by having his head cut off like a pig. "This would be filmed - they would have the soldier's ID to prove who he was and the film would be released through Khan's terrorist network to cause panic and fear with the British armed forces and the wider public." It also emerged last week, in proceedings which could not be reported until today, that Khan wanted to burn the soldier's body and parade his head on a stick. Whoa. It's been 300 years since the last drawin' and quarterin'. A security services probe installed in Khan's home recorded him in November 2006 telling co-defendant Basiru Gassma what he intended to do. Khan was heard to say: "We give the judgment... well then cut it off like you cut a pig, man "Then you put it on a stick. Then we throw the body, burn it, send the video to the chacha (a reference to terrorist leaders in Pakistan). "This is what they call you will terrorise them, they will go crazy. They will start searching... London, Birmingham, Newcastle, where are these people?" Revealing that the soldier would be befriended before being kidnapped, Khan added: "All I say to you is set it up ... drug dealers they will go with him, one day, they do deal. "Then the next time you'll take him Broad Street, wine and dine and girl and things. After that they don't get friendly." Basiru Gassama, 30, pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to a failure to disclose information about the plot. Mohammed Irfan, 31, and Hamid Elasmar, 44, both pleaded guilty to engaging in conduct with the intention of assisting in the commission of acts of terrorism - namely helping Khan to supply the equipment. Zahoor Iqbal, 30, was found guilty by the jury at Leicester of the same charge. Amjad Mahmood, 32, was found not guilty of failing to inform the authorities about the plot.

Link

Britain

Sixth man cleared in plot to kill British Muslim soldier

2008-02-18

A sixth man charged over a plot to kidnap and behead a British Muslim soldier has been found not guilty. Amjab Mahmood, 32, was last week cleared by a jury at Leicester Crown Court of aiding terrorists. Amjab Mahmood has now also been cleared on a charge that he failed to report the beheading plot to policeHe has now also been cleared on a charge that he failed to report the beheading plot to police. On Friday, Zahoor Iqbal, 30, of Perry Barr, Birmingham, became the fifth man to be convicted in the case. He was found guilty of one count of helping ringleader Parvis Khan - who has already admitted four charges linked to the kidnap plot and other offences - to supply equipment to people in Pakistan for terrorist activities. As seen here. Three other men have admitted other terrorism offences. Khan, 37, admitted at the start of the trial that he plotted to have drug dealers lure a British Muslim soldier from a nightclub, bundle him into a car and behead him in a garage. He also admitted supplying equipment to terrorists on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and being in possession of two records or documents likely to be of use to a terrorist. Hamid Elasmar, 44, of Edgbaston, and Mohammed Irfan, 31, of Ward End, both pleaded guilty before the trial to helping Khan send the shipments to the sub-continent. And Basiru Gassama, 30, of Hodge Hill, admitted knowing about Khan's kidnap plot but failing to tell the authorities. Got all the way to the bottom of the article and didn't encounter a single Clive.

Link

Britain

Fifth man convicted in plot to kill British Muslim soldier

2008-02-15

A jury convicted a fifth man in the case of a plot to kidnap and kill a British Muslim soldier and supply terrorists in Pakistan with equipment. Zahoor Iqbal, 30, of Elmbridge Road, Perry Barr, Birmingham, was found guilty at Leicester Crown Court of one count of helping fanatic Parvis Khan to supply equipment to people in Pakistan, near the Afghanistan border, for terrorist activities. He was cleared of a charge of possessing a document or record likely to be useful to a terrorist, namely a computer disc entitled Encyclopaedia Jihad. Another man, Amjad Mahmood, 32, of Jackson Road, Alum Rock, Birmingham, was cleared of a charge of helping supply equipment for terrorist activities. The jury, which first retired on Wednesday, has failed to reach a verdict on another charge, that Mahmood knew about Khan's plan to film the beheading of the soldier but failed to inform the authorities. The jury was sent home for the weekend and will continue deliberating on Monday. Khan has already admitted four charges linked to the kidnap plot and other offences. Three other men have admitted other related terrorism offences.

Link

Britain

'Ringleader' of UK soldier beheading plot to stand trial

2007-02-24

(AKI) - A man reportedly accused of plotting to kidnap and behead a British Muslim soldier will face trial next year, London's Old Bailey criminal court heard on Friday. Parviz Khan, 36, is accused of "intention to kidnap and kill a member of the British armed forces." The alleged plan involved copying militants' tactics in Iraq by torturing and decapitating the soldier and posted the killing to the Internet, according to media reports. Khan and four other suspects have been charged with various terrorism offences. Khan, a 36-year-old father of four appeared together with four other suspects via video link at the Old Bailey. He was one of a group of men arrested in the central English city of Birmingham in a major anti-terrorism operation last month. Khan and the other men, Mohammed Irfan, 30, Zahoor Iqbal, 29, Hamid Elasmar, 43, and Amjad Mahmood, 31, are all charged with funding terrorism and with supplying terrorists. Mahmood, is also charged with failing to disclose information which might have been of "material assistance" in preventing the kidnap plot. During Friday's 90 minute hearing the court heard that owing to the very large quantity of evidence gathered by investigators in connection with the alleged plot, a "realistic" trial date would be late next year, possibly in Birmingham.

Link

Britain

Sixth man nabbed in head chopping plot

2007-02-10

A sixth man was charged with a terror offence following raids in Birmingham. West Midlands police said Basiru Gassama, 29, from Birmingham, will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Saturday. He is accused of withholding information about a potential act of terrorism. The charge, under the Terrorism Act 2000, follows the appearance of five other men in court charged with offences under anti-terrorism laws. One of the men was accused of planning to kidnap and kill a British soldier. Parviz Khan, 36, appeared amid tight security at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court in London alongside four other men. Khan, arrested in a series of raids in Birmingham on January 31, is charged with an offence under section 5(1) of the Terrorism Act 2006. He is accused between November 1 2006 and 31 January 2007 of engaging in conduct "to give effect to his intention to kidnap and kill a member of the British Armed Forces". Khan and the other four - Amjad Mahmood, Mohammed Irfan, Zahoor Iqbal and Hamid Elasmar - are all charged with two offences each. One is under section 5(1) of the Terrorism Act 2006 and the other under section 17 the Terrorism Act 2000. The first alleges that between March 30 2006 and January 31 2007 they engaged in conduct to give effect to an intention to supply equipment for use in committing acts of terrorism. The second charge states that between the same dates they entered into or became concerned in a funding arrangement that they knew or had cause to suspect "may be used for the purposes of terrorism". Khan then also faces the charge alleging the kidnap plot while 31-year-old Mahmood is also accused of failing to disclose information which might have been of "material assistance" in preventing the alleged plot. All five men are now due to appear at the Old Bailey on February 23.

Link

Home Front: WoT

6th Man Charged in British Beheading Plot

2007-02-09

although of course, Muslim Anger™ is centered on the two that were released without being charged, not about the fact that these guys were going to kill a man by cutting his head off . . . you'd think that if they're so frikkin proud of their religion-driven actions, they'd admit to it. cowards. A sixth man has been charged under the terrorism act following last weeks raids in Birmingham. Five men appeared in court today charged with terror offences. One of the defendants, Parviz Khan, is accused of plotting to kidnap and kill a British soldier. The other four, Amjad Mahmood, Mohammed Irfan, Zahoor Iqbal and Hamid Elasmar, also face offences under the Terrorism Act. They were all arrested in anti-terror raids in Birmingham on January 31. The defendants, who are in police custody, were transferred from Coventry to City of Westminster Magistrates' Court in a police convoy. No applications for bail were made on behalf of Khan or Mahmood. The five defendants were flanked by seven security guards as they filed into the dock. Two of the men - including Khan - remained standing throughout the hearing. Four were dressed in blue sweatshirts while one wore a stripy sweatshirt and woollen hat. They listened intently throughout the hearing, which was heard before district judge Daphne Wickham.

Link

Home Front: WoT

Five British Beheading Plotters Face Terror Charges

2007-02-09

Plenty of British muslim accusations of "police state," on this, not so much. Five men arrested in Britain in connection with an alleged plot to kidnap and behead a Muslim soldier in an 'Iraq-style' video execution have been charged with terrorism offences, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Friday. But only one of the suspects, named as Parviz Khan, 36, was charged specifically with plotting to kill a member of the British armed forces, Sue Hemming of the counter-terrorism division of the CPS told a news conference. The other four men, aged between 31 and 43, were charged with various offences under the Terrorism Act. All are believed to be British-born Muslims of Pakistani origin. Khan is accused of 'engaging in conduct to give effect to his intention to kidnap and kill a member of the British armed forces' between November 1 last year and the time of his arrest on January 31, 2007. Three of the altogether nine men who were arrested in dawn raids in Birmingham, in the British Midlands, on January 31 have been released without charge, while another man remains in custody. THIS is what the muslim community is in a later about, not the fact that credible terror threat was in their midst The four men charged along with Khan were named as Mohammed Irfan, 30, Zahoor Iqbal, 29, Hamid Elasmar, 43, and Amjad Mahmood, 31. They were due to appear before magistrates in London later Friday. Press reports said last week that the men were being held for planning to abduct a Muslim British soldier in Britain while on home leave from duty in Afghanistan and post his execution on the internet. The intention behind the plot was to have been to put pressure on the British government to withdraw troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. so much for living in a democratic country, where the civilized use information and political campaigns to influence the government The attack had been imminent, the reports suggested. West Midlands police chief David Shaw said Friday that 4,500 items, including computers and mobile phones, had been confiscated during the search of 18 premises in Birmingham. Shaw, clearly aware of the unease the arrests have caused among Birmingham's large Muslim community, stressed Friday that the investigating authorities had received 'fantastic support' from the local community. he had to say that. even if it is true, where are the media reports, then? He blamed speculative media reporting for the 'damage' that had been done to relations between ethnic groups in the city. But one of the three men freed, Abu Bakr, said police investigators had never explained to the men why they were held and there had been 'no mention' of a kidnap plot involving a soldier. Bakr,who worked in an Islamist bookshop in Birmingham where he is also studying for a PhD in Political Islam, said the arrest would affect him 'for the rest of my life.' isn't ALL islam political these days? His charge that Britain was a 'police state for Muslims' was rejected as 'categorically wrong' by the British government Thursday, which said that if the allegation was true, Bakr would not have been released or allowed to make his remarks on BBC television. Meanwhile in London, police were holding radical Muslim Abu Izzadeen on suspicion of 'encouraging terrorism.' The 31-year-old Jamaican who converted to Islam in 1994 is held in connection with a speech he gave in Birmingham last summer. However, police stressed that his arrest in London Thursday was not connected with the case in Birmingham.

Link

Britain

Preacher calls for death to all Muslim soldiers

2007-02-04

ONE of Britain’s most notorious Islamist preachers has warned that any Muslim joining the army should expect to be beheaded. Omar Bakri, who fled Britain weeks after the 7/7 London bombings, said on the internet that Muslim troops were “apostates”. His video was posted shortly after the death of the first British Muslim to die on active service in the war on terror. The killing last year of Lance Corporal Jabron Hashmi, 24, is said to have inspired the alleged plot to kidnap, torture and behead a British Muslim soldier in Birmingham. This weekend, Bakri confirmed that he endorsed the execution of British Muslim soldiers captured in Afghanistan and Iraq. “British Muslims who join the army and kill other Muslims are terrorists,” he said. Bakri, who led the banned Al-Muhajiroun group, continues to direct his followers in Britain with messages through secure websites. On the video, he says: “I hope they capture British Muslims who are really in the army there in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are apostates.” He adds: “We will strike your neck.” Bakri’s comments will fuel concerns that radicals are fomenting terrorism because the authorities fear alienating Muslim communities. Last week’s arrests sparked anger in Birmingham, where Dr Mohammed Naseem, a Muslim leader, said British Muslims were being treated like Jews in Nazi Germany. He told a 2,000-strong congregation outside the Birmingham central mosque: “There is a political objective behind these arrests. It is something that has been magicked up.” West Midlands police have handed out 5,000 leaflets and are keen to avoid comparison with a raid last June in Forest Gate, east London, where a man was shot. The Sparkbrook Islamic centre, just a few streets away from where a suspect was arrested last week, held a conference last year where a speaker gloated over the death of L/Cpl Hashmi. An undercover reporter heard him say: “The hero of Islam is the one who separated his head from his shoulders.” The Maktabah bookshop, where one of the suspects worked, is notorious for stocking inflammatory works about Jihad. But for all the outward signs of extremism in Birmingham, neighbours of the men arrested last week insisted they were well-respected members of the community. Pervaiz Khan, 30, an unemployed father of four, was described as “the best Asian footballer in the area, an Asian Roy Keane”. He is a friend of Amjad Mahmood, 29, a father of two, who works 14-hour days at Khan’s general store alongside his father. Azzar Iqbal, 38, has three daughters and runs a pizza business in the area. Zahoor Iqbal, a 29-year-old teacher who lives in north Birmingham, is a cricketer known as “the terminator” for his ability to demolish opponents at the wicket. Abu Bakir worked at the bookstore. All, according to friends, are “nice guys”. Nice guys. Pious, nice guys. Holy, pious, nice guys. With swords and rifles.

Link

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-8 More