A British terrorist of Somali descent has been found guilty of murdering UK Member of Parliament Sir David Amess and plotting to attack other lawmakers.
Ali Harbi Ali, 26, who pledged allegiance to the ISIS terrorist group, brutally stabbed Amess to death in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, on Oct. 15, 2021.
Amess, a 69-year-old father of five who had served as MP for the Southend West constituency since 1997, was meeting with constituents when he was attacked.
During his trial, Ali said he had no regrets about the murder, justifying his actions by saying the veteran Conservative MP deserved to die as a result of voting for air strikes on ISIS terrorists in Syria in 2014 and 2015.
At the Central Criminal Court at the Old Bailey on April 11, the jury deliberated for 18 minutes before unanimously finding Ali guilty.
“It cannot have been easy to listen to the evidence you have listened to,” Justice NigelSweeney thanked the jury. The terrorist refused to stand up on “religious grounds” as he was convicted.
Max Hill QC, director of public prosecutions, said the murder was “the most appalling tragedy” and an “attack on democracy.”
He said, “I’m obviously pleased that at the end of what must have been a very difficult trial for Sir David Amess’s family, justice has been served and this individual will now pay the price for his crimes.”
In response to the guilty verdict, Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey wrote on Twitter: “Good. Justice delivered though we will never have Sir David back.”
Ali, who was born into an influential Somali family in London, became self-radicalised in 2014 and dropped out of a university, abandoning ambitions for a career in medicine.
The prosecutor said the attack on Amess was “no spur-of-the-moment decision,” as Ali had “for a number of years been determined to carry out an act of domestic terrorism.”
He considered travelling to Syria to fight for the ISIS terrorist group, but by 2019 opted for an attack in Britain.
The terrorist bought a knife six years ago and carried out reconnaissance on targets including Cabinet secretary Michael Gove.
By September last year, Ali had settled on Amess as an easy target after seeing his upcoming meeting with constituents in Leigh-on-Sea on Twitter. He made an appointment through the MP’s office, falsely claiming he was moving to the area and was interested in churches.
On Oct. 15 last year, within minutes of meeting Amess, Ali pulled out a 12-inch carving knife and stabbed him more than 20 times.
In a police interview, he spoke calmly about his plot and admitted allegiance to the ISIS terrorist group.
Ali will be sentenced on April 13.
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