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'Lyrical terrorist' has conviction quashed

8:34am Wednesday 18th June 2008

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A Heathrow worker who dubbed herself a "lyrical terrorist" and wrote poems about beheadings has had her conviction on terror charges quashed.

British-born Samina Malik, 24, was given a nine-month jail sentence suspended for 18 months at the Old Bailey in December.

But yesterday, Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips, sitting in the Court of Appeal with Mr Justice Goldring and Mr Justice Plender, said the court found there was "a very real danger that the jury became confused and that the prosecution have rightly conceded that this conviction is unsafe".

Malik had been found guilty under the Terrorism Act of collecting information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

The court heard she wrote extremist poems praising Osama Bin Laden on the back of till receipts while working at WH Smith at the airport and possessed a number of documents including the al Qaida Manual, the Terrorist's Handbook and the Mujahideen Poisons Handbook.


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Gertrude Grendal, London says...
10:23am Wed 18 Jun 08

Ironical isn't it, if a Christian UK citizen wrote lyrics demanding the death of Moslems, they would be tried under the easier to prosecute crime of racism, and receive a long prison sentence. This proves how corrupt this country has become. One rule for them, and the rest of us can go to h*ll!

John Bull, SW london says...
10:26am Wed 18 Jun 08

Try writing a song advocating murdering moslems, and you will quickly be prosecuted under the race hate laws, and find yourself in prison for a very long time.

carly, london says...
10:48am Wed 18 Jun 08

Thats because we haven't just been shipped over here. We have no rights in our own country anymore do we because we dont want to offend any one else.
Like banning St Georges Day!! Who are we offending? Everyone else can celebrate Divali, Eid, Christmas, Chinese New year, St Patricks Day with open arms but god forbid we celebrate our own day!

waldopepper, Teddington says...
1:51pm Wed 18 Jun 08

It was really headline-catching for the article to mention the lyrics and clearly that's blinded the readers commenting above. She wasn't found guilty of writing offensive poems, it was for:
"collecting information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism."
If you're going to moan about anything, why not concentrate on whether she should have been released despite being a danger to society.

Also who has been 'shipped' over to the country since slave times? Your language is clearly confused and you're just adding to the general nonsense phrases used when talking about this issue.

I would like to know what rights you think you've lost as a result of immigration - you think St Georges day has been banned? It still happens - it's just not celebrated with an actual holiday or feast day (hasn't since the 18th century).

Bruinhilda, Valhalla says...
3:17pm Wed 18 Jun 08

No doubt this person will now receive benefits as she is out of work. Like Abu Qutada, who cannot be deported to Jordan for fear that he will get what he deserves, she will live like a parasite off the tax payers. Maybe she should apply for a job as a pole dancer or hairdresser, like that other miserable character in the papers. With a favourable magistrate (and they usually are) she should get at least £4,000.

Joseph Felts, London says...
9:39am Thu 19 Jun 08

"But yesterday, Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips, sitting in the Court of Appeal with Mr Justice Goldring and Mr Justice Plender, said the court found there was "a very real danger that the jury became confused and that the prosecution have rightly conceded that this conviction is unsafe"."

Excuse the ignorancy on the issue but that paragraph doesnt say a whole lot on what was considered weak in the conviction to quash it. However, writing messages of sypathy in regard to bin Laden and the terrorist movement is a commitment within the offence she was convicted of.

If she is out of work now, why would she received benefits? Did the conviction rob her of the opportunity and freedom to seek work? The JobCentre will be all too happy to supply her with employment.

Gertrude Grendal, London says...
9:39pm Thu 19 Jun 08

I stand corrected Mr. Felts. This lady will no doubt be offered employment in the civil service, then she can 'lose' sensitive data to her heart's content.

Peter P, Twickenham says...
11:20pm Thu 19 Jun 08

Waldopepper asks “I would like to know what rights you think you've lost as a result of immigration”

Waldopepper, I will assume that you are a native Briton, and that you just haven’t quite grasped what is going on in Britain (and the rest of Europe for that matter).

Immigration itself is an attack on the rights of Britain’s native people by our own selfish elites (power-hungry internationalists all): we never asked for it, and we are demonised if we protest. What you are seeing is an indigenous people having their homeland taken from them. Oh, but we are still 90% of the population the complacent will say. And soon, ‘we are still 80%’. Then 70, 60, 50, 40, 15 ... How can it be otherwise as long as we continue along our present path?

Of course, I could tell you about Abigail Howarth, banned from applying for a civil service training programme for being English, or Codie Stott, put in a prison cell for asking to be put in a group in school with some girls who actually spoke English, or the prison service offices that we moved from Corby because the town was not ‘diverse’ enough (eg, too white) or the SOAS student made to apologise for holding an “English” party.

But it can take more than this before people start to join the dots. I know this – it’s taken me years.

Gertrude Grendal, London says...
8:24pm Sat 28 Jun 08

So Lord Chief Justice Phillips, fears the jury would "be confused" as Mr Felts points out. The only confusion is in the judgement of Lord Phillips and his colleagues. His usual judgement in favour of criminals and against the public.

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