Roshonara Choudhry

Roshonara Choudhry stabbed British MP Stephen Timms on 14 May 2010 in an attempt to kill him.

Contents

Study

She studied at King's College, London.[1]

Attack

On 14 May 2010, Timms was approached by 21-year-old Roshonara Choudhry, during his constituency surgery at the Beckton Globe Library in Kingsford Way, Beckton, East London.[2][3] She acted as though she was going to shake his hand, and then stabbed him twice in his abdomen with a 6-inch kitchen knife, before she was disarmed.[4][5][6]

She had made "very full admissions" to the police, saying that she had been influenced by dozens of hours of sermons that she had watched of Anwar al-Awlaki, a leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. She said her attack was to punish Timms for voting for the Iraq War, and revenge for the Iraqi people.[7][8] She said she attacked Timms "Because I’m a Muslim and all Muslims are brothers and sisters", that she was "trying to kill him", and said "I wasn’t going to stop stabbing him until someone made me."[5]

Timms suffered "potentially life-threatening" wounds–lacerations to the left lobe of his liver, and a perforation to his stomach. A senior police officer said he "was extremely fortunate not to have been killed".[9] He underwent emergency surgery at the Royal London Hospital, from which he was discharged on 19 May.[5][10]

Trial

Choudhry chose not to attend her trial for attempted murder at the Old Bailey, saying she did not recognize the court's jurisdiction.[5][11][12] The prosecutor ruled out any suggestion that she suffered from a mental illness.[13] On 2 November, Choudhry was found guilty of Timms' attempted murder. She was subsequently given a life sentence, with a recommendation that she serve a minimum jail term of 15 years.[9]

Aftermath

After the court case, Timms said he was not bitter, but that forgiveness was not an issue until his attacker showed remorse. He was seeking the banning of incendiary material on popular internet sites "to protect other vulnerable young people from going down the same road."[14]

References

  1. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/02/profile-roshonara-choudhry-stephen-timms
  2. ^ Woman charged with attempted murder of Labour MP, The Times, 15 May 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  3. ^ "Former minister Timms stabbed". BBC News. 14 May 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/8683596.stm. Retrieved 14 May 2010. 
  4. ^ Woman, 21, arrested over stabbing of Labour MP, The Independent, 15 May 2010
  5. ^ a b c d Tom Rawstorne (6 November 2010). "Roshonara Choudhry brainwashed by Al Qaeda into stabbing MP Stephen Timms". London: Dailymail.co.uk. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1327096/Roshonara-Choudhry-brainwashed-Al-Qaeda-stabbing-MP-Stephen-Timms.html?ito=feeds-newsxml. Retrieved 10 November 2010. 
  6. ^ "Roshonara Choudhary accused of stabbing MP Stephen Timms". London: Daily Mail. 18 May 2010. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1278948/Roshonara-Choudhary-accused-stabbing-MP-Stephen-Timms.html?ito=feeds-newsxml. Retrieved 11 November 2010. 
  7. ^ Burns, John F.; Helft, Miguel (4 November 2010). "YouTube Withdraws Cleric's Videos". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/05/world/05britain.html. 
  8. ^ "Al-Qaeda leader's tour of Britain 'radicalised a generation of young Muslims'". Oneindia News. http://news.oneindia.in/2010/11/06/alqaeda-leaders-tour-of-britain-radicalised-ageneration.html. Retrieved 8 November 2010. 
  9. ^ a b "Woman jailed for life for attack on MP Stephen Timms". BBC News. 3 November 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11682732. Retrieved 4 November 2010. 
  10. ^ MP Stephen Timms discharged from London hospital, BBC News, 19 May 2010
  11. ^ Woman charged with attempted murder over stabbing of Labour MP Stephen Timms, Daily Mail, 15 May 2010
  12. ^ Woman appears in court over stabbing of Labour MP, Daily Telegraph, 17 May 2010
  13. ^ Woman stabbed MP 'in revenge for Iraq war vote', Daily Telegraph, 1 November 2010
  14. ^ Stephen Timms: I don't feel bitter but I'm not ready to forgive my knife attacker, Evening Standard, 4 November 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2010.