Police have arrested Imran Mostafa Kamel, the son of jailed Finsbury Park mosque radical preacher Abu Hamza al-Masri, while investigating the fatal stabbing of a doorman in London on New Year’s day.
Police say that the arrest is “not directly connected” to the murder of 33-year-old Romanian security guard Tudor Simionov, who was stabbed outside a luxury townhouse in the upscale London district of Mayfair, but had come about as a result of their investigation.
Mr Simionov was stabbed in the chest at 5:30 am on January 1st as he attempted to stop around nine people from gatecrashing a private party at Fountain House, Park Lane, some of the wealthy guests allegedly including Arab princes.
Mr Simionov died at the scene. Three other people, two of Mr Simionov’s colleagues and a woman, were injured during the melee but their injuries were not life-threatening.
The Times reports that the party was allegedly organised by convicted fraudster ‘Fast’ Eddie Davenport and claims the venue is frequently used for adult sex parties.
Police said Mr Kamel, 26, was arrested during the course of their investigations at the Park Lane address. No firearm was discharged at Fountain House, they said.
Mr Kamel appeared before Westminster Magistrates’ Court charged with possession of a firearm when prohibited for life and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear or danger on Thursday.
The 26-year-old is one of seven British children of banned Islamist hate preacher Abu Hamza al-Masri, who is currently serving a double life sentence in a Colorado prison after being extradited in 2012 and convicted of terrorism charges in the United States.
The Egyptian-born cleric, who claimed to have lost both hands and one eye whilst fighting against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the eighties, had also been imprisoned in the UK in 2004 for inciting racial hatred and encouraging Muslims to kill non-Muslims whilst imam at the Finsbury Park mosque, London, during the nineties.
Abu Hamza also spoke at the pro-Islamisation Rally for Islam in 2002, organised by the now-proscribed Al-Muhajiroun which was formed by Syrian Salafist Omar Bakri Muhammad and Anjem Choudary who was convicted of inciting support for Islamic State in 2016, jailed, and released late last year.
Finsbury Park mosque, which was closed in 2003 following a counter-terrorism investigation and reopened in 2005 under new management, served as a “haven” for Islamic extremists under Abu Hamza, according to leaked documents.
Attempted shoe bomber Richard Reid and 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui were counted amongst its congregants, with intelligence sources telling the Observer in 2002 that the mosque had also hosted weapons training, allegedly teaching al-Qaeda supporters how to handle and strip Kalashnikov AK-47s in the building’s basement.
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