Hamza found guilty in New York

TERROR supporter and hate preacher Abu Hamza has been found guilty by a court in New York today.

The jury of eight men and four women were unanimous in its verdict of guilty on 11 terror charges, despite Hamza’s last ditch defence of claiming that he was aiding British Security Services, and that he should be seen in the same light as Nelson Mandela.

While he has yet to be sentenced the verdict marks a key moment in the on-going fight against the Islamic extremism. Hamza was best known in the United Kingdom for his hate filled rants as he tried to radicalise British Muslims by promising them glory in war which he had constructed in his own mind.

The hook handed terrorist supporter was condemned by people of all faiths, including a large proportion of the British Islamic community, for his praise of the 9/11 hijackers on the anniversary of the devastating attack, which left 2,977 innocent men women and children dead as planes hit the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon.

As Manhattan United States Attorney Preet Bharara told reporters: "The defendant stands convicted, not for what he said, but for what he did. Abu Hamza was not just a preacher of faith, but a trainer of terrorists," adding, "Once again our civilian system of justice has proven itself up to the task of trying an accused terrorist and arriving at a fair and just and swift result."

Perhaps most crucially Mr Bharara stressed that it was a ‘civilian trial’. This was not a campaign against a self proclaimed fighter; it was a carefully constructed court case against a man accused of providing aid to terror groups.

The stage was set in the opening comments made by Assistant US Attorney Edward Kim at the start of the prosecution’s case when he asserted that Hamza had turned the London Finsbury Park Mosque into “the base of operations for the global export of violence and terror.”

“Abu Hamza was not just a preacher of religion,” stated Mr Kim, adding. “He was a trainer of terrorists and he used the cover of religion so he could hide in plain sight in London.”

Despite the best efforts of his defence council Joshua Dratel to portray him as a misunderstood and courageous man, fighting to find a safe ground for Muslims around the world the jury has spoken. Twelve men and women have found him guilty in a court of law, now it is down to the judges to decide his fate. What seems certain, however, is that he will be treated as a standard criminal rather than the hero he has attempted to portray himself as being.