Post date: Nov 29, 2013 2:5:25 PM
The trial of two Muslim converts accused of hacking to death a British soldier in broad daylight on a London street set to begin.
BURY, ENGLAND, UK (UK POOL) - The trial of two Muslim converts accused of hacking to death a British soldier in broad daylight on a London street, is due to start on Friday (November 29) in a case that has shocked many in Britain.
British Prime Minister David Cameron described the killing at the time as a betrayal of Islam and an attack on the British way of life.Drummer Lee Rigby, 25, a veteran of the Afghan war, was killed on May 22 not far from an army barracks in Woolwich, southeast London, a murder that provoked disgust and fears of an anti-Muslim backlash.
A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as "multiple incised wounds".
Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22, will appear at London's Old Bailey central criminal court to deny murdering Rigby, conspiracy to murder a police officer and the attempted murder of a police officer.
Both suspects have used their Islamic names - Mujahid Abu Hamza for Adebolajo and Ismail Ibn Abdullah for Adebowale - during pre-trial hearings.
Thousands of people including veterans in uniform lined the street of Rigby's home town of Bury in northern England for his funeral in July. Cameron and Londonmayor Boris Johnson joined the mourners for the service.