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Abu Hamza found guilty of terror charges in US court | Abu Hamza found guilty of terror charges in US court |
(35 minutes later) | |
Radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza has been found guilty by a New York court of supporting terrorism. | |
He was accused of conspiring to aid organisations like al-Qaeda. | He was accused of conspiring to aid organisations like al-Qaeda. |
Prosecutors said Abu Hamza - born Mustafa Kamel Mustafa - aided kidnappers of tourists in Yemen in 1998 and attempted to build a terror training camp in Oregon. | |
The 56-year-old, who was extradited from the UK in 2012, had denied all the charges against him. | |
The Islamist preacher came to prominence in the UK for his fiery sermons outside Finsbury Park mosque; in one he praised the 11 September hijackers. | The Islamist preacher came to prominence in the UK for his fiery sermons outside Finsbury Park mosque; in one he praised the 11 September hijackers. |
He was extradited after having been jailed for seven years in the UK for inciting murder and race hate. | |
In New York the jury of eight men and four women reached a unanimous guilty verdict on all 11 terror charges. | In New York the jury of eight men and four women reached a unanimous guilty verdict on all 11 terror charges. |
Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara said: "The defendant stands convicted, not for what he said, but for what he did. | Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara said: "The defendant stands convicted, not for what he said, but for what he did. |
"Abu Hamza was not just a preacher of faith, but a trainer of terrorists. | |
"Once again our civilian system of justice has proven itself up to the task of trying an accused terrorist and arriving at a fair and just and swift result." | "Once again our civilian system of justice has proven itself up to the task of trying an accused terrorist and arriving at a fair and just and swift result." |
'Helped MI5' | |
Prosecutors argued that in 1998, Abu Hamza arranged satellite communications for a group of kidnappers in Yemen who carried out a deadly attack in which four hostages were killed, and that in 1999-2000 he and others conspired to establish an al-Qaeda training camp in Bly, Oregon, among other acts. | |
He was convicted of various crimes including hostage taking, conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, and abetting religious war in Afghanistan. | |
During the trial the court heard details of the radical cleric's life. | |
Before gaining notoriety as an Islamist, he had worked at a Soho strip club in London after coming to England from Egypt in 1979. | |
He revealed how he lost an eye and both his hands - not, as he had previously claimed, from fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan - but during an accident in Pakistan when liquid explosives intended for use in a road construction project went off by mistake. | |
His defence claimed he had assisted MI5 "to keep the streets of London safe". | |
He is due to be sentenced on 9 September where he faces a possible life imprisonment. | He is due to be sentenced on 9 September where he faces a possible life imprisonment. |