UK Police charge 25-year-old Ali Harbi Ali with murder of British lawmaker David Amess
By Team Newsable | First Published Oct 21, 2021, 6:21 PM ISTBritish police said British man with Somali heritage, Ali Harbi Ali, has been charged with act of terrorism under the Terrorism Act in the death of David Amess.
London: A 25-year-old man has been charged in the stabbing of a Conservative lawmaker David Amess who was killed as he met constituents at a church hall last week.
British police said British man with Somali heritage, Ali Harbi Ali, has been charged with act of terrorism under the Terrorism Act in the death of David Amess.
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“We will submit to the court that this murder has a terrorist connection, namely that it had both religious and ideological motivations,’’ said Nick Price of the Crown Prosecution Service. “He has also been charged with the preparation of terrorist acts," AP reported.
Amess, 69, from Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party, was knifed repeatedly on Friday in the Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, northeast of London, where he had been meeting constituents. Paramedics tried to save him on the floor of the church, but in vain.
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The death of Amess, who had served in Parliament for almost 40 years and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2015, has shocked Britain, especially its politicians, who pride themselves on being accessible to their constituents. It has prompted conversations at the highest levels about how the country protects its leaders and grapples with extremism at home.
Labour MP Jo Cox was killed as she met constituents in the febrile run-up to the Brexit referendum in June 2016.
Nick Price, head of the CPS special crime and counter-terrorism unit, said lawyers would submit that Amess' killing "has a terrorist connection, namely that it had both religious and ideological motivations".
"He (Ali) has also been charged with the preparation of terrorist acts," he added.
"This follows a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police in its investigation," he added.
(With inputs from agencies)
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