Lee Rigby Murderers Sentenced to Life in Prison

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Michael Adebolajo has been sentenced to a "life means life" prison term for the killing of Drummer Lee Rigby while Michael Adebowale was sentenced to life with a minimum of 45 years

The Islamist killers of Drummer Lee Rigby erupted into violence in an Old Bailey courtroom as they were sentenced for murder.

Michael Adebolajo, 29, and Michael Adebowale, 22, had to be manhandled out of court by security guards after being told by Mr Justice Sweeney that their crime was a "betrayal of Islam".

Michael Adebowale stood up and shouted: "I swear by Allah that America and Britain will never have any safety. Allah Akbar."

His co-defendant, Michael Adebolajo, also stood up and began shouting before eight dock officers grabbed both killers and wrestled them to the floor.

Relatives of Drummer Rigby, sitting just feet away, stood up and cowered away from the violence.

Adebolajo was manhandled down the stairs in the historic Court No 2 but, in scenes lasting several minutes, his co-defendant was held to the floor and cuffed before being carried downstairs head first.

Drummer Rigby's widow Rebecca was left sobbing uncontrollably at the scenes.

Mr Justice Sweeney resumed his sentencing to give Adebolajo a whole life tariff, meaning he will die in jail.

Adebowale was given life with a minimum term of 45 years. The pair had reacted to the judge's comments that after they became extremists they began "espousing a cause and views which ... are a betrayal of Islam".

Adebowale called out "That's a lie" and "It's not a betrayal of Islam, you don't know what Islam is" as the struggle erupted in the dock. » | David Barrett and Claire Carter | Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Woolwich: War without Borders?

In an interview with Al Jazeera Investigatiive Unit, the brother of Michael Adebolajo, speaks about the motivation, ideology and politics behind the fatal attack on British soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich, London earlier this year.

'If My Son Did What Michael Adebolajo Did, I Would Be Happy': Hate Preacher Omar Bakri Muhammad Says He Is Proud of Lee Rigby Killer

MAIL ONLINE: Omar Bakri Muhammad said e would be 'happy' if son killed a soldier / Adebolajo spoke at radical group Al-Muhajiroun's demonstrations / Muhammad said he did not feel sympathy for Lee Rigby

A hate preacher says he would be 'proud' if his son killed a man like Lee Rigby's murderer Michael Adebolajo.

Omar Bakri Muhammad said if his son, who was sitting on his father's knee during the interview, grew up and killed a soldier he would be 'happy'.


Adebolajo attended and spoke at the radical group Al-Muhajiroun's demonstrations after joining the group in 2003. He also changed his name to Mujahid, meaning ‘one who engages in jihad’.

Over the following years he cropped up again and again at Islamist events.

Channel 4 News reports Omar Bakri Muhammad, the former leader of Al-Muhajiroun, said he was proud of the killer.

He said: 'I've got a son, if he did what Michael did I would be happy.' » | Emma Thomas | Friday, December 20, 2013

Lee Rigby Murder: Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale Found Guilty

Michael Adebolajo (left) and Michael Adebowale

THE GUARDIAN: Old Bailey jury finds pair guilty of fatally attacking soldier in street near Woolwich barracks in south London

Two men have been convicted of murdering a soldier in broad daylight near a military barracks in London, in the first al-Qaida-inspired attack to claim a life on British soil since 7 July 2005.

Michael Adebolajo, 29, and Michael Adebowale, 22, murdered Lee Rigby, 25, as he returned to the Woolwich barracks in south London, in May.

They were convicted after a trial at the Old Bailey in central London, which heard that the soldier was almost beheaded in the attack.

The jury took just over 90 minutes to reach its verdicts. Both men were found not guilty of the attempted murder of a police officer. Relatives of Rigby cried as the verdicts were given.

Rigby's stepfather, Ian, wiped away tears and put his arm around the soldier's mother, Lyn, who was sobbing.

Mr Justice Sweeney, who ordered that the decisions be heard in silence, said he would pass sentence after a key appeal court ruling on the use of whole life terms in January.

Adebolajo looked at the press and kissed his Qur'an as he was taken to the court cells.

Adebolajo, from Romford, Essex, and Adebowale, from Greenwich, south London, claimed they were soldiers of Allah and their violence was a reprisal against western foreign policy, which had led to the deaths of Muslims. » | Vikram Dodd and Josh Halliday | Thursday, December 19, 2013

Read the Telegraph article here | Tom Whitehead, Security Editor | Thursday, December 19, 2013

Lee Rigby Murder Trial: Accused 'Hopes to Be Accepted into Paradise as Martyr'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Michael Adebolajo tells the Old Bailey he "loves" al Qaeda and considers the terrorist group as "brothers"

The Islamist fanatic accused of murdering soldier Lee Rigby told a court he “loves” al Qaeda and considers the terror group "his brothers in Islam”.

Michael Adebolajo, 28, also told the Old Bailey jury that he was a “soldier of Allah” and that he had no regrets over the killing because he was obeying his god.

He said after the case he should be either “ransomed” back to his Mujahideen brothers, freed or killed.

At the start of his defence in chief, Adebolajo sat in the witness box of Court number 2, surrounded by five security guards and just feet from Fusilier Rigby’s family. » | Tom Whitehead, Security Editor | Monday, December 09, 2013

Lee Rigby Case: Muslim Fanatic Said He Killed Soldier In 'Most Humane Way He Could'

Drummer Lee Rigby

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Michael Adebolajo tells the court Mr Rigby died because he was simply the first soldier they spotted and it was as if “Allah had chosen him”

An Islamist fanatic admitted trying to decapitate Drummer Lee Rigby because “the most humane way to kill any creature is to cut the jugular”, a jury has heard.

Michael Adebolajo, 28, told police he was not sure “how I struck the first blow” but added “I struck at the neck and attempted to remove the head”.

He also revealed 25-year-old Mr Rigby died because he was simply the first soldier they spotted and it was as if “Allah had chosen him”.

The admissions came during a fourth interview with police ten days after Fusilier Rigby was allegedly run over with a car and then hacked to death close to his Woolwich barracks in south east London. » | Tom Whitehead, Security Editor | Thursday, December 05, 2013

Lee Rigby Murder Suspect Michael Adebolajo Told Police, 'Tony Blair Wicked and Corrupt', Court Hears

Michael Adebolajo

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Old Bailey jury hears police interviews in which accused delivered political sermon and said it brought him “little joy to approach anybody and slay them"

The Islamist accused of hacking Lee Rigby to death told police it brought him “little joy to approach anybody and slay them”, a court heard on Wednesday.

Michael Adebolajo, 28, told officers that 25-year-old Fusilier Rigby was killed after being “struck in the neck” and “sawed” until his head “almost detached”.

In one police interview, he delivered a near-40-minute uninterrupted sermon and wore a blue blanket over his head throughout.

He said he was “ashamed to be British” and attacked senior politicians including David Cameron and Tony Blair as “wicked”. Three interviews, conducted 10 days after Fusilier Rigby’s death, were shown to the Old Bailey jury on the fourth day of the murder trial.

At times, Adebolajo clashed with officers trying to ask him questions, saying they could not interrupt him. » | Tom Whitehead, Security Editor | Wednesday, December 04, 2013

Woolwich Trial: Lee Rigby Was Victim of 'Barbarous' Attack, Court Hears

THE GUARDIAN: Trial begins of Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, accused of killing soldier near London barracks


Two men staged a "barbarous" attack on a British soldier, knocking him down with a car before mutilating him with knives and a cleaver as they attempted to behead him, the jury heard at the opening of the Woolwich murder trial at the Old Bailey.

Lee Rigby, 25, was killed in broad daylight in a street close to the Woolwich military barracks in south London as he walked back to his barracks. The incident occurred within yards of a primary school, the jury was told.

Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale deny murdering the soldier in a London street in May 2013. They are standing trial at the Old Bailey in central London.

Beginning the case, the prosecutor Richard Whittam QC told the jury the two men had committed a "cowardly and callous" attack on Rigby and had "mutilated his body with a meat cleaver and knives".

The attack happened just after 2pm on 22 May 2013. A Vauxhall Tigra was driven straight at Fusilier Rigby as he walked across Artillery Place. The car hit him at 30-40mph and crashed into a road sign.

Whittam said: "From eyewitness accounts it appears that Lee Rigby was rendered unconscious by that deliberate act. The car carried him from the road on to the pavement."

The jury were told by the prosecutor: "Both men got out. They were clearly acting together with a common purpose.

"The two men were armed with a meat cleaver and knives. They also had a firearm, a revolver, with them.

"They both attacked the motionless body of Lee Rigby." » | Vikram Dodd, Josh Hallidaay and Matthew Taylor | Friday, November 29, 2013

Woolwich Terror Attack: Lee Rigby Murder Suspect Michael Adebolajo Beaten Up In Jail

THE INDEPENDENT: One of the men accused of murdering Fusilier Lee Rigby outside Woolwich Barracks has been attacked in prison.

Michael Adebolajo, 28, of Romford, Essex, was set upon at HMP Belmarsh in south-east London on Wednesday.

It is understood that he lost his two front teeth in the attack, but no arrests have yet been made. The Prison Service refused to comment on the extent of his injuries or on suggestions that he had been “targeted” by prison officers. » | Agency | Thursday, July 18, 2013

Radical Islam and the Cleric Anjem Choudary
Radical Islam and the attack at woolwich, Anjem Choudary

Woolwich Attack: Michael Adebolajo Charged with Murder

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A second man has been charged with the murder of drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said Michael Adebolajo, 28, of Romford, Essex, would appear before magistrates accused of murdering the 25 year-old soldier in Woolwich last month, and with the attempted murder of two police officers.

Adebolajo also faces a charge of possession of a firearm, namely a 9.4mm KNIL Model 91 revolver with intent to “cause persons to believe that unlawful violence would be used”.

Adebolajo has been remanded in custody and will appear before Westminster magistrates' court on Monday.

Another man, Michael Adebowale, 22, from Greenwich, south-east London, was charged with murder and possession of a firearm last week. » | David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent | Saturday, June 01, 2013