Abu Hamza al-Masri | |
|---|---|
أبو حمزة المصري | |
 al-Masri, shortly after his extradition to the U.S. in 2012 | |
| Born | Mustafa Kamel Mustafa مصطفى كامل مصطفى (1958-04-15)15 April 1958 (age 67) |
| Criminal status | Imprisoned atADX Florence,Colorado, United States[2] |
| Convictions | United States:[1]
|
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole |
Mustafa Kamel Mustafa (Arabic:مصطفى كامل مصطفى; born 15 April 1958), also known asAbu Hamza al-Masri (/ˈɑːbuːˈhɑːmzəɑːlˈmɑːsri/ ⓘ;أبو حمزة المصري,Abū Ḥamzah al-Maṣrī – literally, father of Hamza, theEgyptian), or simplyAbu Hamza, is an Egyptiancleric who was theimam ofFinsbury Park Mosque inLondon, where he preachedIslamic fundamentalist views.
The UK tabloid press nicknamed him "Captain Hook" in allusion to the fictional pirateCaptain Hook, due to his prosthetic hook devices.[4][5][6]
In 2004, Hamza was arrested by British police after theUnited States requested he be extradited to face charges. He was later charged by British authorities with sixteen offences for inciting violence and racial hatred.[7] In 2006, a British court found him guilty of inciting violence, and sentenced him to seven years' imprisonment. On 5 October 2012, after an eight-year legal battle, he was extradited from the UK to the United States to face terrorism charges[8][9] and on 14 April 2014 his trial began in New York.[10] On 19 May 2014, Hamza was found guilty of eleven terrorism charges by a jury inManhattan. On 9 January 2015, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.[11]
Hamza was born Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, inAlexandria, Egypt, in 1958, the son of a middle-class armyofficer. In 1979, he entered Britain on astudent visa.[12]
His initial reaction to life in Britain was to describe it as "a paradise, where you could do anything you wanted."[13] He studied civil engineering atBrighton Polytechnic.[14] Prior to his adoption of Islamism in Malta, 1999, Hamza was known as a "gentle giant" and a "womaniser".[15] Hamza gained employment as a bouncer in thestrip bars ofSoho under his original name from 1980 until 1983, when club owner Jean Agius was arrested and charged for conspiring to be apimp. Agius alleges that Hamza may have also co-owned a club during this time.[15]
In the early 1990s, Hamza lived inBosnia under another name, and fought alongsideBosniaks againstSerbs andCroats during theBosnian War.[16][17]
Hamza, who has one eye and no hands, once claimed he lost them fightingSoviet forces in Afghanistan.[18]CNN reported they were "injuries he says he sustained while tackling a landmine in Afghanistan."[19]
Among several accounts that take issue with Hamza's story,[20][21]BBC security correspondentGordon Corera's introduction toOmar Nasiri's memoirInside the Jihad: My Life with Al Qaeda says Hamza "boosted his credibility" with rumours he sustained the injuries fightingjihad; also that Nasiri knew they resulted from "an accident during experiments in a training camp", and Hamza asked Nasiri "to keep this secret in order to avoid undermining his reputation."[22] This version of events is corroborated byAimen Dean, a senior figure inal-Qaeda's chemical weapons programme turneddouble agent forMI6. Both Dean and Hamza were trained byAbu Khabab, al-Qaeda's top bomb maker. Dean states that Hamza sustained his injuries at a training camp nearLahore where, having prepared a batch ofnitroglycerin, Hamza ignored his tutor's instructions to wait for the mixture to cool before inserting thedetonator.[23] During his trial in the United States, Hamza stated that his injuries occurred whilst working with explosives with thePakistani military in Lahore.[24]
On 16 May 1980, Hamza married British citizen Valerie Fleming, aRoman Catholicconvert to Islam,[25] and soon after they had a son, Mohammed Mustafa Kamel born in October 1981. In 1984, their relationship came under increasing strain and later in that year Hamza took three-year-old Mohammed with him to Egypt, effectively breaking contact with Valerie.[26] Eventually they divorced and he married Najat Mustafa, with whom he has seven children: five sons followed by two daughters.[27] Hamza's stepdaughter, Donna Traverso, toldThe Times in 2006 that she was convinced Hamza had duped her mother, Valerie, into marrying him in order to gain the right to stay in the UK.[28]
In 1999, Hamza's son Mohammed, then 17 years old, was arrested inYemen with Hamza's stepson Mohssin Ghalain and eight other men. All were tried and convicted of planning a terrorist bombing campaign that the prosecution alleged Hamza had sent the men to carry out. Mohammed and Mohssin received prison sentences of three and seven years, respectively.[29][30]
Hamza's Moroccan daughter-in-law was jailed for attempting to smuggle a mobile phone sim card when visiting him inBelmarsh prison in 2012. She is now facing deportation but because she is the sole carer of her son, a British national, the European Court of Justice'sadvocate general has ruled she cannot automatically be deported despite her criminality unless she is deemed to pose a 'serious' threat to society.[31]
Hamza was the imam ofFinsbury Park Mosque from 1997, and a leader of the Supporters of Sharia, a group that believed in a strict interpretation ofIslamic law. On 14 September 1999, he sent an article toAl-Hayat, one of the largest pan-Arab newspapers, supporting theRussian apartment bombings, claiming that, while "in a war, no one targets women and children in a war", these attacks were necessary as "a Muslim revenge for the Russian criminal policies inChechnya". In 2003, he addressed a rally incentral London called by the Islamical-Muhajiroun, where members spoke of their support forIslamist goals such as the creation of a new Islamiccaliphate and replacing the Western-backed Middle Eastern regimes.
On 4 February 2003 (after being suspended since April 2002), Hamza was dismissed from his position at the Finsbury Park Mosque by theCharity Commission,[32][33] the government department that regulates charities in England andWales. After his exclusion from the mosque, he preached outside the gates until May 2004, when he was arrested at the start of US extradition proceedings against him.[34]
Hamza publicly expressed support for Islamist goals such as creating a caliphate,[35] and forOsama bin Laden. He wrote a paper entitledEl Ansar (The Victor) in which he expressed support for the actions of theArmed Islamic Group (GIA) inAlgeria, but he later rejected them when they started killing civilians.[36] In one sermon relating to the necessity of Jihad, he said: "Allah likes those who believe in Him who kill those who do not believe in Him. Allah likes that. So if you Muslims don't like that because you hate the blood, there is something wrong with you."[37]
On the first anniversary of the11 September attacks, he co-organised a conference atFinsbury Park Mosque where he praised the hijackers.[38] He allegedly associated withAbdullah el-Faisal, aJamaican Muslim convert cleric who preached in the UK until he was imprisoned for urging his followers to murder Jews, Hindus, Christians and Americans, subsequently being deported to Jamaica in 2007.[39]
Hamza was arrested in December 1980, during a raid on aSoho strip club, for overstaying his tourist visa, which allowed him to stay in the UK for one month. He pleaded guilty to overstay but was allowed to remain in the UK as he was married to a British citizen, Valerie Fleming.[15]
On 26 August 2004, Hamza was arrested by British police under section 41 of theTerrorism Act 2000, which covers the instigation of acts of terrorism. Charges against him were dropped on 31 August 2004, but he was kept in jail whilst a US extradition case was developed and British authorities drew up further criminal charges of their own.[40] Almost two months later, on 19 October 2004, Hamza was charged with fifteen offences under the provisions of various British statutes, including encouraging the killing of non-Muslims, and intent to stir upracial hatred.[41] The trial commenced on 5 July 2005, but was adjourned, and not resumed until 9 January 2006. On 7 February 2006, he was found guilty on eleven charges and not guilty on four:
In sentencing,Mr Justice Hughes said Hamza had "helped to create an atmosphere in which to kill has become regarded by some as not only a legitimate course but a moral and religious duty in pursuit of perceived justice."[44] Abu Hamza was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment.
In September 2012,Frank Gardner claimed that QueenElizabeth II had been upset some years earlier that Abu Hamza al-Masri could not be arrested.[45] The BBC apologised later that day for the claim.[45]
On 18 January 2007,Lord Justice Hughes made an order for the recovery of the full costs of the court-appointed defence of the race-hate charges, estimated in excess of £1 million. This judgement was based on his view that "the story I have been told today (by Abu Hamza) is simply not true" that he [Abu Hamza] had no share in a £220,000 house inGreenford, west London. Hamza had claimed it belonged to his sister. The court also found that Abu Hamza was contributing £9,000 a year for private education for his children.[46]
On 27 May 2004, Hamza was detained onremand by British authorities and appeared beforemagistrates at the start of a process to try toextradite him to the United States. Yemen also requested his extradition. The United States wanted Hamza to stand trial for eleven counts relating to thetaking of sixteen hostages in Yemen in 1998, advocating jihad in Afghanistan in 2001, supportingJames Ujaama in an alleged attempt to establish a "terrorist training camp" in late 1999 and early 2000 nearBly, Oregon, and of providing aid to al-Qaeda.[47][48] Ujaama is a US citizen who had met Abu Hamza in England in 1999 and was indicted in the US for providing aid to al-Qaeda, attempting to establish a terrorist training camp, and for running a website advocating global jihad.[49] Abu Hamza was in Britain throughout the relevant period.
On 15 November 2007, British courts gave permission for Hamza's extradition to the US.[50] Abu Hamza appealed against this decision to theEuropean Court of Human Rights (ECHR). In the meantime, Hamza was kept in prison after the completion of his sentence.
On 8 July 2010, the ECHR temporarily blocked Hamza's extradition to the United States to face terrorism charges until the court was satisfied that he would not be treated inhumanely.[51] In past cases, the ECHR prevented the UK from deporting suspected foreign terrorists to places where they might be tortured. In Hamza's case, this was extended to refusing extradition to a country where he might be jailed for life, and where the prison regime is judged too harsh. The court said there should be further legal argument on whether life without parole would be a breach of human rights. The court asked for fresh submissions on whether Hamza, and other prisoners awaiting extradition, would face inhumane treatment in the US if they were sent there to stand trial.[52]
On 24 September 2012, the UK court agreed Hamza could be extradited to the US to face terrorism charges.[53] After considering all evidence statements by officials at the USADX Florence penitentiary, the court held that "conditions at ADX would not amount to ill-treatment" and also stated that "not all inmates convicted of international terrorism were housed at ADX and, even if they were, sufficient procedural safeguards were in place, such as holding a hearing before deciding on such a transfer" and that "if the transfer process had been unsatisfactory, there was the possibility of bringing a claim to both theFederal Bureau of Prisons' administrative remedy programme and the US federal courts",[54] referring to the28 CFR542 Administrative Remedy Program. On 26 September, a High Court judge halted the extradition after Hamza launched a last-ditch appeal[55] but on 5 October 2012 the High Court granted the UK's government's request to extradite Hamza to the US.[56] The removal process took place that same evening, when Hamza was taken fromHM Prison Long Lartin toRAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, where he was placed into the hands of theUnited States Marshals Service.
Abu Hamza arrived in the US on the morning of 6 October 2012 to face eleven charges relating to hostage taking, conspiracy to establish a militant training camp and calling for holy war inAfghanistan. He appeared in theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York on 6 October and was then taken into custody. He appeared in court again on 9 October and pleaded not guilty to eleven charges.[57][58][59]
On 14 April 2014, his trial opened with jury selection.[10] His lawyer, Joshua Dratel, claimed Abu Hamza cooperated with MI5 and the police to help interact with the British Muslim community.[60] On 19 May 2014, he was found guilty of the terror charges. BritishHome SecretaryTheresa May said that she was "pleased" that Abu Hamza had "finally faced justice".[61][62] On 9 January 2015, Hamza was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, and the entire sentence would be served atADX Florence inColorado.[11][63] In U.S. confinement, his hook devices were confiscated and replaced with a prostheticspork.[64]
In late August 2020,The Times reported that Abu Hamza had filed a lawsuit against theUS Attorney GeneralWilliam Barr over what he described as "inhumane and degrading" conditions at ADX Florence. Hamza's complaints included solitary confinement, the removal of his prosthetic hooks despite his lack of forearms, sustaining tooth decay from opening food packages, and encountering "religious stress" from eatingkosher food.[65][66]
He wrote the following books and booklets:[67]
Media related toAbu Hamza al-Masri at Wikimedia Commons
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