Beckton birthday acid attacker John Tomlin jailed for 16 years

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April 20, 2018
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A man who seriously injured a woman and her cousin by throwing acid into their car has been jailed for 16 years.

Resham Khan and Jameel Muhktar had been out celebrating Ms Khan’s 21st birthday on 21 June when they were attacked in Beckton, east London.

John Tomlin, 25, of Colman Road, Canning Town, admitted intentionally causing the pair grievous bodily harm.

Ms Khan told Snaresbrook Crown Court her birthday “turned into a day where my face was taken away from me”.

“I have been looking at myself in the mirror it upsets me, it brings back the incident on the day, it doesn’t look like me,” she added in her victim impact statement.

Sentencing Tomlin, Judge Sheelagh Canavan said the injuries were “dreadful and life changing”.

She added: “It is becoming all too common an occurrence on our streets that members of the public are pouring water over people who have had acid thrown over them, as if this is some sort of fashionable assault that is being carried out.”

John Tomlin doused Resham Khan and her cousin Jameel Muhktar with acid through a car window

John Tomlin doused Resham Khan and her cousin Jameel Muhktar with acid through a car window

Ms Khan, a Manchester Metropolitan University student, suffered face and neck injuries and was left with damage to her left eye.

She will carry lifelong scars and has suffered from severe depression and anxiety as a result of the attack, the court heard.

Mr Mukhtar, 37, who had to be placed in an induced coma, has permanent scarring to his head, neck and body and has lost hearing in one of his ears.

In his victim statement he told the court he suffers from depression and has tried to take his own life.

“I get flashbacks and am really worried to leave my house, constantly looking over my right shoulder fearing attacks,” he added.

“I am mentally and physically scarred for life. I can’t even have a relationship. It’s enough dealing with myself.”

Tomlin hurled acid through both front windows of the Renault Clio as it pulled up on Tollgate Road.

He was seen on CCTV chasing after the car and emptying the bottle of acid over Mr Muhktar as he sped away.

Witnesses described seeing the victims “jumping around as if they were on fire” in the road as their clothing “literally melted off them on to the ground”.

Tomlin was arrested after handing himself in to the police a month after the attack and said in a police interview that he was “hearing voices in my head”.

The victims had “no previous dealings” with their attacker and Judge Canavan previously described the assault as “somewhat random”.

Speaking outside court, Mr Muhktar branded Tomlin an “animal” and a “coward” and said he “deserves the death penalty”.

“The sentence isn’t long enough, my life has finished, I’m in continuous pain, I can’t sleep and I can’t eat,” he added.

“He should have been given life, he should have done the whole of his life in prison.”

Ms Khan added: “I hope to push through and get on as if it never happened.”

Helen Taylor, from the Crown Prosectution Service, said it was an “appalling attack that left the victims with physical and psychological scars”.

“This case serves as a warning of the harm acid can cause and that those who use it as a weapon can face significant prison sentences,” she added.

BBC News

US woman sentenced to life for Valentine’s Day shooting plot in Canada

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April 20, 2018
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Lindsay Souvannarath pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit murder in a plan that involved opening fire at a mall in Halifax

Lindsay Souvannarath arrives at court in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on 6 March 2015. Photograph: Darren Pittman/Reuters

Lindsay Souvannarath arrives at court in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on 6 March 2015. Photograph: Darren Pittman/Reuters

An American woman who plotted to go on a Valentine’s Day shooting rampage at a Canadian mall was sentenced to life in prison on Friday with no chance of parole for nearly a decade.

Lindsay Souvannarath of Geneva, Illinois, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit murder in a plan that involved opening fire at a mall in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2015.

Justice Peter Rosinski, of the Nova Scotia supreme court, said that Souvannarath is and will remain a threat to society. He said she has not expressed remorse for her plot.

Rosinski also said that if the plan to kill unsuspecting shoppers had not been interrupted by an anonymous tip and the quick actions of local police, it would have been carried out.

Rosinski said his sentence was partly shaped by the principles that apply to terrorism. While he told the court the motivations and intentions in the case are not precisely the same as those related to terrorism activities, he said the crime requires the court to “send a clear message” to those conspiring to kill multiple people that “they will pay a heavy price”.

The judge also gave Souvannarath credit for time served in custody, so she will be eligible for parole in seven years.

Police thwarted the planned attack after receiving an anonymous tip, but Souvannarath had already boarded a plane in Chicago bound for Nova Scotia.

Her co-conspirator, James Gamble, killed himself as police surrounded his Halifax-area home. Souvannarath was arrested at the airport.

A third accomplice – a local man described in court as the “cheerleader” of the plot – was previously sentenced to a decade in jail.

When Rosinski asked Souvannarath if she would like to address the court before sentencing, the 26-year-old said: “I decline.”

Before delivering sections of his decision orally in court on Friday, the judge entered new letters from Souvannarath’s parents and grandparents as exhibits in the case. The parents of both Souvannarath and Gamble were in court for the sentencing.

At the time the plot was being planned, Souvannarath and Gamble were unemployed and lived with their families.

Court documents released say online conversations between Souvannarath and her Canadian friend quickly devolved into a shared admiration for the Columbine killers, mass shootings and their murderous conspiracy to go on the shooting rampage at the Halifax Shopping Centre food court.
The Guardian

Lancashire ‘Nazi’ jailed for anti-Semitic hatred

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April 18, 2018
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A self-confessed Nazi who called for the genocide of Jewish people has been jailed for three years.

The 22-year-old Lancashire man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty in January of two counts of stirring up racial hatred.

Preston Crown Court heard he committed the offences in speeches at far-right gatherings in 2015 and 2016.

Judge Robert Altham said the defendant’s comment had been “intended to mobilise others”.

He said the intent of the man, who was involved with the now banned group National Action, was “clear”.

Judge Altham said: “He seeks to raise street armies, perpetrate violence against Jewish people and ultimately bring about genocide.”

He said they were “not idle comments said in the heat of the moment” and he was “resolute in his original views and withdraws nothing”.

‘Shocking and inflammatory’

The judge described an apology submitted in mitigation as “meaningless” at best, and “dishonest” at worst.

He sentenced him to 18 months in prison for each offence, to be served consecutively.

The court heard the defendant had described Jewish people as “parasites” and called for them to be “eradicated” at an event in Yorkshire.

At another demonstration he claimed Britain “took the wrong side” in World War Two.

The court heard the defendant also said: “You can call me a Nazi, you can call me a fascist, that’s what I am.”

Judge Altham said material discovered by police at his home was “as shocking and inflammatory as it is misguided”.

Wayne Jackson, defending, said his client was not making excuses for his behaviour and had been “impressionable in the past”.
BBC News

Man jailed for eight years for terror offences

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April 13, 2018
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A man has been jailed for eight years today after he was found guilty of distributing extremist publications.

The man − who cannot be named for legal reasons − was found guilty of two charges of possessing documents likely to be useful to a person preparing to commit an act of terrorism and distribution of a terrorist publication.

A 33-year-old soldier − Mikko Vehvilainen – has also been jailed for eight years but details of this offence cannot be disclosed for legal reasons.

Vehvilainen, who is a lance corporal in the army and born in Finland, was arrested by officers from West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit (WMCTU) at his army base in Brecon, Powys in September 2017.

At an earlier hearing, Vehvilainen admitted a separate offence of being in possession of pepper spray.
Following a search of his military address, officers found a war hammer which had “Isaiah 48:22” carved into the handle referencing a passage from the Bible – “There is no peace, says the LORD, for the wicked”.

Also found were throwing knives, two crossbows, a number of arrows and component parts of an electromagnetic pulse device. A mannequin was found in Vehvilainen’s garage which had knife marks in the torso area.

West Midlands Police

Man guilty of terrorism offences over extremist publications

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April 12, 2018
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A man has been convicted of committing terrorism offences after he was found guilty of distributing extremist publications.

The man – who cannot be named for legal reasons – was found guilty of two charges of possessing documents likely to be useful to a person preparing to commit an act of terrorism and distribution of a terrorist publication.

A 33-year-old soldier – Mikko Vehvilainen – was also found guilty but details of this offence cannot be disclosed for legal reasons.

Vehvilainen, who is a lance corporal working as a trainer in the army and born in Finland, was arrested by officers from West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit (WMCTU) at his army base in Brecon, Powys in September 2017.

At an earlier hearing, Vehvilainen admitted a separate offence of being in possession of pepper spray.

Following a search of his military address, officers found a war hammer which had “Isaiah 48:22” carved into the handle referencing a passage from the Bible – “There is no peace, says the LORD, for the wicked”.

Also found were throwing knives, two crossbows, a number of arrows and component parts of an electromagnetic pulse device. A mannequin was found in Vehvilainen’s garage which had knife marks in the torso area.

A third man, 24-year-old Mark Barrett – a private in the military − also stood trial and was found not guilty of an offence which cannot be disclosed for legal reasons.

Detective Chief Superintendent Matt Ward, who heads the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit, said: “We are committed to tackling all forms of extremism which has the potential to threaten public safety and security.”

Anyone who sees or hears something that could be terrorist-related should act on their instincts and call the police in confidence on 0800 789 321. In an emergency, always dial 999. Visit gov.uk/ACT for more information, including how to report extremist or terrorist content that is online.
West Midlands Police

Nazi-salute British soldier cleared of terrorism offence

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April 12, 2018
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Cpl Mikko Vehvilainen found not guilty over Breivik manifesto after admitting having CS gas

A serving British soldier who kept a photo of himself giving a Nazi-style salute has been cleared of a terrorism offence.

Cpl Mikko Vehvilainen, a white supremacist who collected a host of legally held weaponry, pleaded guilty to a separate charge of having a banned canister of CS gas, which he kept in a drawer at a property he was renovating in Llansilin, Powys.

A jury at Birmingham crown court cleared him of possession of a terrorism document – a charge that related to a manifesto by the Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik – and two counts of stirring up racial hatred, relating to forum posts on a white nationalist website.

Vehvilainen, of the Royal Anglian Regiment, kept a homemade target dummy in the garage of his barracks home at Sennybridge Camp, Brecon, and had a container filled with 11 knives, knuckle-dusters, a face mask and a box of Nazi flags, all legally held.

He kept a licensed shotgun, a crossbow and bow and homemade arrows, he had wiring and electrical parts capable of being made into a crude electro-magnetic pulse device, and he customised army-issue body armour, spray-painting it black. He also had a Hitler Youth knife and an SS ceremonial dagger.

Vehvilainen wrote to two men jailed for race crimes, including a man convicted of making antisemitic remarks to the Labour MP Luciana Berger, telling them “there is still hope”. He wrote a draft of an extreme rightwing magazine he entitled Extinction, in which he railed against mixed-race relationships, “unnatural” homosexuality and “non-whites”.

Vehvilainen’s phone showed 900 visits to a white nationalist website, Cristogenea.org.

Vehvilainen’s barrister, Pavlos Panayi QC, told jurors at the start of the trial that it was “not in dispute that he [Vehvilainen] is a racist”, but he said it was not a crime simply to hold such views.

The prosecutor Duncan Atkinson QC said that in collecting weapons Vehvilainen was “putting into effect his repeated call, quite literally, to arms on the part of those who, like him, wanted to create a white-only society”.

An entry in a notebook found at Vehvilainen’s address, read: “Be prepared to fight and die for your race in a possible last stand for our survival.”

Atkinson said: “The lists [of weapons], and indeed the substantial quantity of weaponry recovered from his address, reveal and speak to his intention to stockpile weapons and other equipment in preparation for the ‘race war’ that he spoke of.”

In Vehvilainen’s wardrobe, where he kept his uniform, police found a Nazi flag pinned to the inside of the door. When he opened the door for officers, he turned to them and said: “That’s what this is about, isn’t it?”

On his arrest on 5 September last year, Vehvilainen told his wife: “I’m being arrested for being a patriot.”

He was on trial alongside Pte Mark Barrett, 25, also of the Royal Anglians, and formerly of Kendrew barracks, Cottesmore, Rutland. Barrett was acquitted of a charge of membership of the proscribed far-right organisation National Action.

A 23-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was cleared of having Breivik’s manifesto but convicted of three other terrorism offences.

Vehvilainen and the 23-year-old will be sentenced on Friday.

The Guardian

Banff man Connor Ward jailed for terrorism offences

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April 12, 2018
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A 25-year-old man from Banff convicted of planning terrorism attacks on mosques has been jailed for life.

A judge told Connor Ward he must serve at least six years before he is eligible for parole.

His trial heard he acquired components for potential bombs and kept a list of Scottish mosque addresses.

Ward had denied breaching the Terrorism Act but was charged with conduct which showed his intention to commit acts of terrorism.

Police who searched his home found hundreds of ball bearings, which could be used in pipe bombs, and rocket tubes capable of firing projectiles.

‘Catastrophic results’

At the High Court in Glasgow, judge Lord Burns told him: “The jury found you guilty and must have been satisfied you were in the course of preparing acts of terrorism.

“The jury’s view was that you formed an intention to attack a mosque or mosques in Aberdeen and would have acted alone.

“You had reached the stage of identifying your targets and expressed threats against Muslims.”

Lord Burns said that if Ward had carried out the acts of terrorism “it would have had catastrophic results.”

‘Serious public risk’

The judge added: “You had reached the stage of buying materials and you planned to cause serious injury at the least.

“Your obsession with weapons and explosives and your extreme right-wing attitudes presents serious risk to the public.”

Ward showed no emotion as he was led away to begin his sentence.

The trial had been held at the High Court in Edinburgh.

He was previously jailed for three years in 2012 after admitting explosives charges in connection with an incident which saw people evacuated from their homes.

BBC News

Scots ‘neo-Nazi’ who plotted terror attacks jailed for life

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April 12, 2018
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A Scots ‘neo-Nazi’ who gathered components to make bombs and kept a list of Scottish mosque addresses has been jailed for life.

Connor Ward, from Banff in Aberdeenshire, acquired hundreds of ball bearings which could be used in pipe bombs and rocket tubes which could be used to fire projectiles.

He also had a stun gun, hundreds of knuckle dusters, knives and metal bars.

The 25-year-old was sentenced to life in prison for breaching the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Terrorism Act 2006. It will be six years before he is eligible for parole.

Ward acquired a mobile phone signal jamming device and a machine for picking up hidden bugs.

He also downloaded tens of thousands of documents on guns and survival techniques. The files also contained extreme right-wing propaganda and military tactics.

Detectives also found a Google Maps-style file containing the postal addresses of five Islamic places of worship in the Aberdeen area on Ward’s computer.

They also found that Ward, who told jurors that he thought Hitler had made mistakes, had started to compose a book called “Combat 18 British Mosque Address Book”.

Lord Burns told him: “The jury found you guilty and must have been satisfied you were in the course of preparing acts of terrorism.

“The jury’s view was that you formed an intention to attack a Mosque or Mosques in Aberdeen and would have acted alone. You had reached the stage of identifying your targets and expressed threats against Muslims.”

Lord Burns said that if Ward had carried out the acts of terrorism “It would have had catastrophic results”.

The judge added: “You had reached the stage of buying materials and you planned to cause serious injury at the least. Your obsession with weapons and explosives and your extreme right-wing attitudes presents serious risk to the public.”

Combat 18 is the name of an extreme British right-wing paramilitary group.

Ward had previously been jailed for three years at the High Court in Edinburgh on another explosives charge.

He was also given a 22-month jail sentence in April 2015 for possessing a stun gun.

Ward was convicted in July 2016 of having an “improvised” knife whilst serving that prison sentence and given another 18 months.

In August 2016, the court heard how Ward was sentenced to another four months in custody for assaulting somebody whilst in custody.

STV

‘Controlling’ Doncaster man jailed for beating girlfriend and attacking good samaritans who came to her aid

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April 9, 2018
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A ‘controlling’ Doncaster man beat his girlfriend in the street, before attacking two members of the public who came to her aid, a court heard.

During a hearing held at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday, Daniel Lang, aged 24, was jailed for three years for one count of controlling and coercive behaviour, one count of grievous bodily harm and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The court was told how Lang’s campaign of controlling behaviour towards his girlfriend began after the couple lost a baby girl in January last year.

It began by him reading things on her phone and checking her Facebook messages and ended with regular drink-fueled attacks in which he would ‘punch, kick and rag her about’, said Christopher Dunn, prosecuting.

He added: “He didn’t exactly stop her from going out, but the consequences if she did go out were such that it was simply wasn’t worth it. She stopped going out with friends, she stopped even going to the shop.”

The months of abusive behaviour came to a head on the evening of August 4 last year, when Lang began beating his girlfriend in the street after the pair were ejected from the Black Bull pub in Doncaster town centre and began arguing.

Following this, Lang, of King’s Crescent, Edlington punched a woman who followed the couple down the street after she became concerned about the young woman’s welfare.

Mr Dunn said: “As she got around the corner punched her in the face, his fist connected with her temple and knocked her unconscious.”

The woman was left with a four-inch cut to her head, which needed to be glued.

Then, in a separate incident, two men who saw Lang punching and kicking his girlfriend after he had thrown her to the floor, called the police for help.

One of the men was concerned that the police would not arrive in time and so attempted to intervene himself, the court heard.

“He challenged the defendant who immediately punched him to the face, causing him to fall to his knees,” said Mr Dunn.

The man sustained a fractured cheek bone in the attack.

He was arrested by police shortly after.

Lang pleaded guilty to the three offences prior to Monday’s sentencing.

Gul Nawaz Hussain QC, defending, said: “The defendant is ashamed of his behaviour, but found it difficult with the loss of his daughter.”

He added: “He vented his anger and frustration when he should have been looking to her for solace and comfort, and should have been offering the same thing to her.”

In addition to his custodial sentence, Recorder Davies also made Lang the subject of a five-year restraining order which prevents him from contacting his former girlfriend during that time.

Doncaster Free Press

Irish ‘Nazi’ soldier jailed for bragging that he’d ‘kill Muslim children’ on WhatsApp

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April 7, 2018
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A SOLDIER jailed for hate crimes after taunting a woman with racially abusive WhatsApp messages has been revealed to be an Irishman from Dublin.

Graham Bolger, a 23-year-old British Army Guardsman, sent a number of racially abusive comments about Turkish people and Muslims to a woman between July 2017 and November 2017.

The shamed soldier was thrown out of the Army after his messages were exposed in court.

The Sun reports that Bolger, who talked about killing Muslim children and claimed to be a Nazi, is originally from Clondalkin in west Dublin.

He was sentenced to 24 weeks in prison at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court in January after admitting two offences of intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress which was racially or religiously aggravated.

His sentence was later uplifted from 16 weeks to 24 weeks after the CPS convinced the court that Bolger’s actions amount to a hate crime.

Videos played at Bolger’s trial showed the Dubliner performing a Nazi salute in his army uniform at the Infantry Training Centre in North Yorkshire.

Graham Bolger making a Nazi salute in uniform, and right, back home in Dublin last year (Image: CPS)

Graham Bolger making a Nazi salute in uniform, and right, back home in Dublin last year (Image: CPS)

His messaging of the woman was described as a campaign of hate – in one instance telling her that he joined the Army to “wipe out” Muslims.

He also told her that Hitler was “brilliant” and praised the Holocaust, branding Jews “money-grabbing c***s”.

After an internal review was ordered by General Sir Nick Carter, Bolger was promptly kicked out of the British Army.

“The Army has concluded its considerations in relation to this case, but we are not prepared to release any personal information about this individual,” said an Army spokesperson.

“We have a common law and Data Protection Act duty to protect the personal information of our employees and there is no good reason to release personal information in this case.”

CPS prosecutor Joyce Kerrins said Bolger’s conduct was “made worse” by his racially abusive comments.

She added: “Where a hate crime has been committed the CPS will always apply to the court to apply the law and give an ‘uplifted’ sentence which properly fully reflects the nature of the crime.

“The evidence provided by the prosecution, following a thorough police investigation, included social media messages and witness testimony and was pivotal to him pleading guilty to his crimes.

“I hope this prosecution empowers other victims of hate crimes to come forward and stop others from also being subjected to vile abuse.”

Irish Post