In front of a Westminister court, the prosecution has claimed that Ali Harbi Ali, the accused in the murder of MP Sir David Amess had been planning the attack for over two years. It is alleged that he was focusing on a total of three MPs and was planning a "terror attack".
Sir David Amess, 69, was proclaimed dead soon after being attacked by the 25-year-old in a church in Essex.
The preliminary postmortem suggested the cause of death to be multiple stab wounds in the chest area, the Herald reported.
The prosecutor, James Cable, said it was the prosecution's case that the accused made an appointment to speak to Amess during his regular constituency surgery with the intention of murdering him on 15 October, The Guardian reported.
Ali Harbi Ali who confirmed his identity in the court on Thursday, 21 October, had links to the Islamic State, the prosecution claimed. He was plotting the murder for about two years.
He was charged with the murder of Amess which was then connected to "terrorist" motives.
He was accused of "engaging in reconnaissance of locations of targets to attack, including addresses associated with members of parliament and the Houses of Parliament, and engaging in internet research relating to targets to attack” between 1 May, 2019 and 28 September, 2021.
After the charges against Ali were announced, the Crown Prosecution Service released a statement explaining: “Some offences, including murder, can be classed as having ‘a terrorist connection’ to ensure the criminal charges properly reflect the conduct concerned. In these cases the individuals have had political, religious, racial and/or ideological motivations behind their crime," The Guardian reported.
The court pointed our the allegations to be severe and remanded the accused in custody. Next hearing would be at the Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey on Friday, 22 October.
(With inputs from The Guardian and The Scottish Herald)
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