 |
|
||
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
   | 
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Race hate charges cleric in court
 Abu Hamza al-Masri is former imam of Finsbury Park mosque in London. YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSLONDON, England (CNN) -- Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri has appeared in a British court accused of inciting his followers to kill Jews and other non-Muslims. Hamza, from west London, sat flanked by four police officers at the Old Bailey in central London on Monday as legal arguments were heard. A jury of eight men and four women was sworn in on Monday. They will return to court on Wednesday when the case is expected to open. The trial is expected to last at least three weeks. Hamza, who has no hands and only one eye, wore a light blue shirt and trousers in court on Monday. His gray hair was closely cut. The former imam of Finsbury Park mosque in north London faces nine charges of soliciting murder under the Offences Against the Person Act of 1861. One charge was dropped on Monday through lack of evidence. In each, Egyptian-born Hamza is accused of soliciting others to murder non-believers at public meetings. Four of the charges specify that Hamza encouraged others to murder Jews. He also faces four charges under the Public Order Act of 1986 of "using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior with the intention of stirring up racial hatred." A further charge says Hamza was in possession of eight video and audio recordings, which he intended to distribute to stir up racial hatred. He also faces one charge under section 58 of the Terrorism Act that relates to the alleged possession of a document which contained information "of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism." Hamza has pleaded innocent to all the charges, which were alleged to have been committed before May 2004. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. 
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
| © 2007 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map. |
|
External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pay service with live and archived video. 
