Omar Bakri Mohammed captured in Lebanon
A runaway Islamist cleric who gained infamy for championing al Qaeda from his home in London has been captured in Lebanon after police opened fire on the rear tyres of his car.
Omar Bakri Mohammed, who was known as the "Tottenham Ayatollah", was arrested three days after being convicted in absentia of terrorism related charges and jailed for life.
Bakri had refused to give himself up, saying he answered to no "man-made court".
Apparently confident that he would receive divine protection, Bakri remained at his home in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, where he was discovered by a police patrol.
He was alerted to their presence when officers were forced to fire into the air to disperse curious onlookers. But his attempt to escape was cut short when they shot his car tyres.
Bakri caused outrage in Britain, his home for 20 years, by praising the hijackers behind the September 11, 2001 attacks and defending the terrorists who carried out the London Underground bombings.
He went to Lebanon to visit his mother in 2005 and was banned from returning to Britain, which had previously granted him political asylum.
Along with 54 others, he was accused by a military court of funding al-Qaeda and being involved in a militant group that fought clashes with Lebanese security forces in 2007.
Despite his rhetoric, Bakri claimed that he had never actually been involved in terrorism, once calling himself a "harmless clown".
He was taken to Beirut to begin his prison sentence. He has 12 days in which to launch an appeal.
Bakri caused outrage in Britain, his home for 20 years, by praising the hijackers behind the September 11, 2001 attacks and defending the terrorists who carried out the London Underground bombings.
He went to Lebanon to visit his mother in 2005 and was banned from returning to Britain, which had previously granted him political asylum.
Along with 54 others, he was accused by a military court of funding al-Qaeda and being involved in a militant group that fought clashes with Lebanese security forces in 2007.
Despite his rhetoric, Bakri claimed that he had never actually been involved in terrorism, once calling himself a "harmless clown".
He was taken to Beirut to begin his prison sentence. He has 12 days in which to launch an appeal.
Comments