Muslim cleric Abu Hamza sentenced to 7 years in jail

British Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri was sentenced to seven years today for charges including inciting murder.

British Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri was sentenced to seven years today for charges including inciting murder.


Egyptian-born Abu Hamza was convicted on 11 counts, also including stirring up racial hatred in his sermons and possessing a handbook "of use to terrorists".

The judge sentenced him to serve all 11 sentences concurrently, the longest of which was seven years. He could have faced life.

Hamza was convicted of six out of nine soliciting to murder charges and two out of four charges under the Public Order Act 1986 of "using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with the intention of stirring up racial hatred".

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He was also convicted of a charge of possession of video and audio recordings that he intended to distribute to stir up racial hatred.

He was also convicted on a charge, under section 58 of the Terrorism Act, of possession of a document, the Encyclopaedia Of The Afghani Jihad, which contained information "of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism".

Hamza was convicted on the fourth day of jury deliberations.

The prosecution had alleged that he was a recruiting sergeant for terrorism and murder.

In Hamza's talks to audiences at the Finsbury Park mosque, north London, and in Luton, Blackburn and Whitechapel, east London, "he was preaching terrorism, homicidal violence and hatred," the court was told.

Sentencing Hamza, the judge said the potential for the cleric's speeches to cause "damage" was "simply incalculable". Mr Justice Hughes told the preacher that his words had created a "real danger" for people across the world, generating an atmosphere in which his devoted followers felt it was their duty to kill.

Mr Justice Hughes said he did not make the mistake of thinking that Hamza represented Islamic thinking generally, but said it was plain that Hamza had spoken with "considerable authority".

"You spoke with great anger, it was directed at virtually every country and a very large number of people," he said.

"You are entitled to your views and in this country you are entitled to express them - up to the point where you incite murder or incite racial hatred. That, however, is what you did. You used your authority to legitimise anger and to encourage your audiences to believe that it gave rise to a duty to murder."

"No one can now say what damage your words may have caused. No one can say whether you audience, present or wider, acted on your words," he added.

"I am satisfied that you are and were a person whose views and the manner of expression of those views created a real danger to the lives of innocent people in different parts of the world."

Nine of Hamza's speeches were played to the jury during his trial - eight on video and one on audio. Jurors were given nearly 600 A4 pages of transcripts of his talks.

Hamza's counsel Mr Fitzgerald said there would be an appeal.   After she had seen him in cells, his solicitor Muddassar Arani said Hamza felt he was "a prisoner of faith and this is a slow martyrdom for him".