‘He wants to be called Mujahid Abu Hamza’
It is a bastion of the English judicial system that when a person is charged with an indictable (serious) offence which will be heard at a crown court, the charges are formally read out to the defendant in the magistrates’ court and arrangements as to bail applications and the next hearing are formalised and decided upon.
The committal hearing commits the case to the higher, crown court. So these are short affairs, the defendant mostly speaking only to confirm their name and address and brief legal applications are made.
That, usually, is that.
It was clear from the off this would be no usual committal hearing.
For a start the police helicopter overhead and the crush barriers out side the front of the court spoke of heightened security and media interest.
The hearing itself took place more than an hour later than scheduled before Emma Arbuthnot, deputy chief magistrate at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
With everyone finally in place, Michael Adebolajo was shepherded into court between two security officials behind the glass-screened dock which can clearly accommodate up to perhaps a dozen defendants at any one time.
Emma Arbuthnot was low-key, conversational in her approach but things went off- piste almost from the off.
Almost immediately Mr Adebolajo objected to having to stand up when the magistrate entered the court. He made plain his issue over this, standing to ask why it was necessary, as it was briefly but clearly explained.
With a left arm heavily bandaged and possibly in plaster, and his right arm gripping the Koran, a supporter in the public gallery tried and eventually succeeded in making eye-contact with him, whereupon the defendant began blowing a series of kisses which he would continue to do throughout the proceedings from time to time.
He told the magistrate that he wished now to be known as Mujahid Abu Hamza and the magistrate duly addressed him by that name in all subsequent exchanges.
The charges were read that, on May 22nd 2013 he murdered Drummer Lee Rigby and that he also attempted to murder two police officers identified only as E48 and D49 and that he was in possession of a 9.4mm KNIL model 91 revolver with which he was unthreatening unlawful violence.
At this point a second interruption as Mr Adebolajo suddenly stood to say:
“I’ve not heard the charges put to me like this before.”
The magistrate said to him in reply to this:
” It is how we do it.”
Arrangements were confirmed for his appearance at the Central Criminal Court in London otherwise known as The Old Bailey, on 28 June.
As proceedings drew to a close he pointed to the ceiling to indicate there no god but Allah and then blew more kisses to a supporter in the gallery who was praying by this stage and he said:
“I am just a man – I want to alleviate the pain.”
With that the business was concluded and he was led away to the waiting blue prisoner-transport vehicle with two police-car escort and helicopter suveillance aboce in the clear early-summer skies over London.
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