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AFP
London
A former Uber driver cleared of planning a terror attack at Buckingham Palace was on Thursday jailed for life after plotting a gun and knife rampage at London tourist sites.
Mohiussunnath Chowdhury was found guilty in February of planning to target popular attractions, including the annual gay Pride march last year using a gun, knife and van.
The 29-year-old was arrested before he could carry out the attack after he unknowingly revealed his plans to undercover police.
Covert officers posing as like-minded extremists befriended and monitored Chowdhury after a jury cleared him in December 2018 of slashing police with a sword outside Queen Elizabeth II’s London residence.
Chowdhury, from Luton, north of London, had shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greater) during the incident, but convinced jurors he only wanted to be killed by police and had no intention to hurt anyone.
However, little more than a year later a separate subsequent trial found Chowdhury guilty of the new terror plans, after hearing he was driven by “dreams of martyrdom”.
He began posting extremist messages online within a week of his release from prison, and bragged to undercover officers about deceiving the jury which had cleared him.
During a five-month surveillance operation, officers learned he was planning to attack attractions including the Madame Tussauds waxwork museum, an open-top sightseeing bus as well as the London Pride event.
He was arrested three days before the parade last year and sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court in southeast London.
Jailing for him life, with a minimum term of 25 years, judge Andrew Lees said he was satisfied Chowdhury was “dangerous” and posed “a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm”.
London
A former Uber driver cleared of planning a terror attack at Buckingham Palace was on Thursday jailed for life after plotting a gun and knife rampage at London tourist sites.
Mohiussunnath Chowdhury was found guilty in February of planning to target popular attractions, including the annual gay Pride march last year using a gun, knife and van.
The 29-year-old was arrested before he could carry out the attack after he unknowingly revealed his plans to undercover police.
Covert officers posing as like-minded extremists befriended and monitored Chowdhury after a jury cleared him in December 2018 of slashing police with a sword outside Queen Elizabeth II’s London residence.
Chowdhury, from Luton, north of London, had shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greater) during the incident, but convinced jurors he only wanted to be killed by police and had no intention to hurt anyone.
However, little more than a year later a separate subsequent trial found Chowdhury guilty of the new terror plans, after hearing he was driven by “dreams of martyrdom”.
He began posting extremist messages online within a week of his release from prison, and bragged to undercover officers about deceiving the jury which had cleared him.
During a five-month surveillance operation, officers learned he was planning to attack attractions including the Madame Tussauds waxwork museum, an open-top sightseeing bus as well as the London Pride event.
He was arrested three days before the parade last year and sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court in southeast London.
Jailing for him life, with a minimum term of 25 years, judge Andrew Lees said he was satisfied Chowdhury was “dangerous” and posed “a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm”.
