Lee Rigby killer’s friend faces jail for terrorism

Fusilier Lee Rigby who was hacked to death on a Woolwich street on May 22nd last year. Picture: PA

Ibrahim Hassan, 29, also known as Abu Nusaybah, was arrested after an interview with the BBC’s Newsnight during which he claimed Michael Adebolajo had been offered a job by MI5.

Hassan and co-defendant Shah Hussain, 31, will be sentenced at the Old Bailey after pleading guilty to the dissemination of a terrorist publication on or before May 24 last year - two days after Fusilier Rigby’s murder.

The pair, who are in custody, also admitted separate charges of encouraging terrorism.

At a sentencing hearing last month, prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones said Hassan and Hussain had previously been involved with the now-banned Islamic extremist group al-Muhajiroun, led by Anjem Choudary.

Hassan, a married father of two, had expressed his belief in Sharia law and claimed the British justice system was too soft on criminals, in a monologue shown on Channel 4, the lawyer said.

A video recovered from Hussain’s home showed him and his wife joking about their baby son chopping off the hands of former prime minister Tony Blair, she added.

The court heard that in November 2012, police discovered five audio files recorded by Hassan called In Pursuit Of Allah’s Governance On Earth, which contained extremist Islamic material and had been uploaded to a file-sharing website.

The court also heard Hussain and Hassan ran a website which posted lectures, articles and videos by radical clerics including Abu Hamza and Abu Qatada.

The website’s YouTube channel included a lecture by the late al Qaida propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki, the hearing was told.

Hassan was arrested after police became aware he was doing a pre-recorded interview with BBC Newsnight on May 24 last year, the court heard.

During the interview he claimed Fusilier Rigby’s killer Adebolajo was tortured in Kenya and had been allegedly harassed by the secret services, Ms Karmy-Jones said.

Hassan admitted encouragement of terrorism on or before May 24 last year relating to the five audio files of the lectures entitled In Pursuit Of Allah’s Governance On Earth.

The charge of disseminating a terrorist publication, which Hassan and Hussain admitted, related to the audio file entitled The Ruling On Insulting The Prophet of Anwar al-Awlaki delivering his The Dust Will Never Settle speech.

Hussain also pleaded guilty to the encouragement of terrorism relating to a video lecture entitled Signs Of A Good Death In Islam published on or before June 5 last year.

The court heard the pair were previously convicted in 2008 after delivering speeches at the Regent’s Park Mosque in London in which they encouraged terrorist activity abroad.

Hassan, who was 19 at the time of the offence in 2004, spoke of assassinating Mr Blair and then-US president George Bush and called for Muslim ‘’brothers’’ to obey Osama Bin Laden, the court heard.

Hussain, who was 24 at the time, said he would slaughter Mr Bush if he had a knife with him and called for support for ‘’Osama’’, the hearing was told.

Following a trial, Hassan was jailed for two years for inciting terrorism, while Hussain was sentenced to two years for fundraising for terrorism abroad.

Hassan, of Carr Road, Walthamstow, east London, also has previous convictions for robbery in 2001, religiously aggravated harassment in 2005 and two counts of assaulting a police officer in 2007.

Hussain, of Cannon Street Road, Whitechapel, east London, was previously convicted of possessing an offensive weapon.

Earlier this year, Adebolajo, was handed a whole-life sentence with no chance of parole for the murder of Fusilier Rigby, while Michael Adebowale, was given life with a minimum term of 45 years.