عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Police Charge 25-year-old Man with British Lawmaker's Murder

Passers-by view floral tributes to British MP David Amess, who was stabbed to death during a meeting with constituents, placed outside the Houses of Parliament, in London, Britain, October 20, 2021. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Passers-by view floral tributes to British MP David Amess, who was stabbed to death during a meeting with constituents, placed outside the Houses of Parliament, in London, Britain, October 20, 2021. REUTERS/Toby Melville
TT
TT

Police Charge 25-year-old Man with British Lawmaker's Murder

Passers-by view floral tributes to British MP David Amess, who was stabbed to death during a meeting with constituents, placed outside the Houses of Parliament, in London, Britain, October 20, 2021. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Passers-by view floral tributes to British MP David Amess, who was stabbed to death during a meeting with constituents, placed outside the Houses of Parliament, in London, Britain, October 20, 2021. REUTERS/Toby Melville

British police charged a 25-year-old man with murder and preparing acts of terrorism Thursday in the stabbing of a Conservative lawmaker who was killed as he met constituents at a church hall last week.

Authorities say the man with Somali heritage, Ali Harbi Ali, has been charged in the death of David Amess.

“We will submit to the court that this murder has a terrorist connection, namely that it had both religious and ideological motivations,” said Nick Price of the Crown Prosecution Service. “He has also been charged with the preparation of terrorist acts."

The death of Amess, who had served in Parliament for almost 40 years and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2015, escalated concerns about security among Britain's politicians, who pride themselves on being accessible to their constituents.

A special session of the House of Commons on Monday resounded with appeals to force social media giants to do more to prevent the spread of online hate that has poisoned political discourse.

The slaying at the Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, northeast of London, came five years after Labour Party lawmaker Jo Cox was shot and stabbed to death by a far-right extremist.

Cox was the first British lawmaker to be killed since a peace accord ended large-scale Northern Ireland violence almost 30 years earlier.

Amess, 69, was a social conservative who opposed abortion, campaigned for animal rights and strongly supported Britain’s exit from the European Union.

Matt Jukes, the Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations, said the force “will continue to build our case.” He said detectives had analyzed computers, searched several London addresses and reviewed CCTV footage as part of the investigation.

“It remains the case that no other arrests have been made and at this time we are not seeking anybody else in relation to this incident,” he said.

Amess's family said he was a patriot and a man of peace.

"So, we ask people to set aside their differences and show kindness and love to all. This is the only way forward. Set aside hatred and work towards togetherness," they said in a statement.

On Wednesday, British interior minister Priti Patel said the terrorism threat level to lawmakers was now deemed substantial, which means an attack is considered likely.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Australians Celebrate and Protest Anniversary of British Colonization

26 January 2025, Australia, Sydney: Protesters march towards Victoria Park during an Invasion Day rally. Photo: Steven Markham/AAP/dpa
26 January 2025, Australia, Sydney: Protesters march towards Victoria Park during an Invasion Day rally. Photo: Steven Markham/AAP/dpa
TT
TT

Australians Celebrate and Protest Anniversary of British Colonization

26 January 2025, Australia, Sydney: Protesters march towards Victoria Park during an Invasion Day rally. Photo: Steven Markham/AAP/dpa
26 January 2025, Australia, Sydney: Protesters march towards Victoria Park during an Invasion Day rally. Photo: Steven Markham/AAP/dpa

Australians celebrated and protested across the country on Sunday as Australia Day drew attention to political differences over Indigenous rights months out from a federal election.
Australia Day marks a British colony being established at Sydney Cove on Jan. 26, 1788, which eventually led to Britain claiming the entire country without a treaty with its Indigenous inhabitants.
Indigenous rights advocates call Jan. 26 “Invasion Day” and protest rallies have been held in major cities, The Associated Press reported. Many argue that Australia’s national day should not commemorate such a divisive event.
Australia Day is usually a public holiday and because it fell on a Sunday this year, Monday has been declared a holiday.
Acknowledging the hurt that Australia Day causes many Indigenous Australians, the most disadvantaged ethnic group that accounts for 4% of the population, many businesses refer to the ”January long weekend” rather than the “Australia Day long weekend.”
Australia Day has in recent decades been the date on which immigrants became Australian citizens in public ceremonies. But several local government councils have chosen to hold citizenship ceremonies on different dates due to the controversy.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor Party government has attempted to accommodate differing views of Australia Day since it won elections in 2022.
The government in 2023 decided to allow public servants to work on Australia Day and take another day off instead, reversing a previous conservative government order that they must not work on Jan. 26 when it falls on a week day.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has said that all councils will be required to hold citizenship ceremonies on Jan. 26 if his party wins elections due by May 17.
“If the prime minister doesn’t have the strength of leadership to stand up to mayors and others who don’t want to celebrate Australia Day, then our country’s in more trouble than we first realized,” Dutton said two weeks ago.
Dutton has accused Albanese of “equivocating” on his support for Australia Day to appease the minor Greens party.
The Greens party opposes celebrations on Jan. 26. Many observers, including Dutton, expect Labor will lose its parliamentary majority at the next election and may need the support of Greens lawmakers to form a minority government.
Albanese has accused Dutton of being divisive by declining an invitation to attend Australia Day events in the national capital Canberra.
Instead, Dutton attended a citizenship ceremony in his hometown of Brisbane.
“The national Australia Day event should be attended by both sides of the Parliament. They should be bipartisan,” Albanese told reporters on Sunday.
“Why wouldn’t you participate in national events if you want to be a national leader?” Albanese asked.
Australian National University historian Frank Bongiorno said both leaders were using Australia Day for their own political advantage.
"These figures will insist that they want it to be a day of unity, but they’ll invariably behave in ways that promote disunity around the day. That’s really how culture wars work,” Bongiorno said.
Dutton has accused Albanese of dividing Australia along racial lines by holding a referendum in 2023 on Indigenous rights.
Australians voted against a proposal that would have enshrined in the constitution an Indigenous body known as the Voice to address Parliament on Indigenous issues.
Dutton has also accused Albanese’s government of focusing on Indigenous rights instead of a cost of living crisis facing many Australians due to inflation and high interest rates.