Feb. 3 (UPI) — A British judge on Friday sentenced a man who drove a van into a group of Muslim worshipers near a London mosque to life in prison.
Justice Cheema-Grubb said Darren Osborne, 48, must serve two concurrent life terms with a minimum of 43 years in prison, minus the 224 days he’s already served.
Osborne was convicted Thursday of killing Makram Ali and injuring 12 others in the attack last June. The victims were all worshipers leaving the Finsbury Park mosque.
“This was a terror attack. You intended to kill,” the justice said, adding that his decision to target people wearing traditional Islamic clothing indicated his “ideology of hate towards Muslims.”
It took the jury about an hour to find Osborne guilty, concluding he tried to kill as many people as possible after immersing himself in extremist propaganda online.
Witnesses said Osborne shouted that he wanted to “kill all Muslims.”
“You were rapidly radicalized … by material put on the Internet by those determined to spread hatred of Muslims,” Justice Cheema-Grubb said.
Ali’s daughter, spoke on behalf of his family after the sentencing.
Ruzina Akhtar said Ali will “always stay in our hearts, his laughter will echo the walls of our home, his smile will be reflected in our eyes, his memories will be alive in our conversations.”
