British Teenage Muslim Convert Planned Lee Rigby Knife Attack

A teenage convert to Islam has appeared in court charged with plotting a hammer and knife attack on either a solider or a member of the government, according to the Daily Mail. Brustchom Ziamani was arrested on Tuesday with a rucksack containing a knife and a hammer wrapped up in an Islamic flag.

Ziamani, who is of Congolese dissent, was arrested in East London amidst allegations that he was going to carry out a gruesome attack, similar to the one against Drummer Lee Rigby. In the incident that cost Rigby his life another Muslim convert waited outside the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich and beheaded him in a frenzied knife attack. 

Westminster Magistrates Court was told that 19-year-old Ziamani was accused engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts contrary to section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006. In the dock he wore a black Call of Duty t-shirt. He refused to sit down during the hearing, opting instead to stand with his hands in his pockets.

Prosecutor Mark Dawson said Ziamani had extreme ideological material in his rucksack. He added: “He was arrested at 4.30pm on Tuesday with a knife and a hammer in a bag on his back wrapped in an Islamic flag.

“He is 19 and of previous good character. He said to (a female teenager) he is going to commit a … terrorist atrocity either on troops or members of the government.”

Mr Dawson told the court that officers had scoured Ziamani’s computer and had ‘three disks worth of material’ to analyse. Judge John Zani, told the defendant he would be remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on 12th September. There was no application for bail.