UK

Darren Osborne jailed for life for Finsbury Park terror attack

Daughter of attack victim says she cannot describe the pain she and family have suffered

The custody photograph of Darren Osborne, who was found guilty on Thursday of murdering Makram Ali and trying to kill others in the Finsbury Park area of north London last June. Photograph: Metropolitan Police/AFP/Getty Images

Kevin Rawlinson
Fri Feb 2 2018 - 15:44

The Finsbury Park terrorist, Darren Osborne, will spend at least 43 years behind bars after being jailed for life for his murderous attack on Muslims in London last June.

Osborne was sentenced to concurrent whole life terms on Friday for murder and attempted murder, with the minimum term of more than four decades to be served.

He had been convicted of murder and attempted murder at Woolwich crown court on Thursday. The van attack on a crowd in Finsbury Park in north London killed 51-year-old Makram Ali and left 12 other people injured.

During Friday's sentencing hearing, Ali's daughter, Rosina Akhtar, said she could not describe the pain she and her relatives had suffered. Her father was taken from them "in a cruel way by a very narrow-minded, heartless being", she said in a statement read to the court by the prosecutor, Jonathan Rees QC.

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She and her family had struggled to sleep since the attack – the scene of which she still has to pass most days on her way to work – and had suffered nightmares, Ms Akhtar said.

Ruzina Akhtar (centre), the daughter of Finsbury Park attack victim Makram Ali, reads a statement to the media outside Woolwich crown court on Friday after Darren Osborne was jailed for at least 43 years. Photograph: Sally Wardle/PA Wire

She described her anguish at having to wait 48 hours to identify her father’s body. “My heart was shattered when I saw my father lying in the morgue. I couldn’t see his smile.” The family’s grieving process could not begin properly until the trial was concluded, she said.

Scared to go out

Osborne attacked the crowd because they were wearing traditional Muslim dress, the prosecution had said during his trial. Ms Akhtar said her mother now felt scared to go out in public because she wears such garments.

“My mother now feels scared to sleep on her own. She sleeps with her children,” she said. “She still sees my father around the house all the time. He was very much a family man . . . this is how he will be remembered.”

Ms Akhtar said Ali’s children and grandchildren, who loved to spend time with him, would now grow up without a father or grandfather. “My father will never be forgotten. He will always stay in our hearts. His laughter will echo the walls of our home and his smile will be reflected in our eyes.”

Speaking from the dock after sentence was passed, Osborne, wearing told the judge: “God bless you thank you.”

Makram Ali, the man who died at the scene of the terrorist attack at Finsbury Park last June. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

The jury took about an hour to unanimously convict Osborne over the premeditated attack in June 2017. He used a rented van to target Muslims as they returned from prayers during the holy month of Ramadan, and the court heard he had wanted to kill as many as possible.

His trial heard that he had become radicalised after watching the BBC docudrama Three Girls, which focused on the abuse of children by a gang, and reading online content from far-right figures such as the former EDL leader, Tommy Robinson, and organisations such as Britain First.

Osborne had appeared before the courts on 33 previous occasions in relation to 102 offences, including assaults and burglaries, Mr Rees told the court. – Guardian

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