“Shahid Butt, who served a five-year sentence for plotting to blow up the British consulate, Anglican church and hotel in Yemen, has registered as an independent candidate for Birmingham City Council in the UK.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Shahid Butt. Photo: The Telegraph Source: The Telegraph
Details: Butt was sentenced to five years in prison in 1999. A court in Yemen found that he was sent there as part of a group by Abu Hamza, a notorious preacher of hate from Finsbury Park Mosque, to commit acts of terrorism. The group also included Hamza’s son and stepson.
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In December 1998, a group of Western tourists were kidnapped in Yemen in an attempt to force the authorities to release Butt and his accomplices. As a result of that operation, several hostages died, including three British.
Hamza himself was sentenced in January 2015 by a New York court to life imprisonment on 11 counts of terrorism and kidnapping.
Victims of Islamist attacks have criticized the admission of a convicted terrorist to the election, saying it makes a laughing stock of the political system.
Batt admitted in a recent interview that he “made mistakes” in his youth, but insists he is innocent of terrorism charges.
Butt’s direct speech: “I made a lot of mistakes, I regret a lot of things from my past. I can’t change it anymore, and I have to live with it. That’s why I got involved in helping young men not to repeat my mistakes.”
Details: After his release in 2003, he positioned himself as an anti-extremist and claimed to have worked with the Home Office and the de-radicalisation program Prevent.
The 62-year-old is currently running as part of an alliance of independent candidates who plan to contest around 20 seats on Birmingham City Council in the May 7 election.