By Karim El-Bar
LONDON (AA) – A man who killed veteran British lawmaker David Amess in a knife attack last year was jailed for life on Wednesday.
Ali Harbi Ali, 26, stabbed Amess multiple times at a public meeting in Essex last October, declaring the attack revenge for the Conservative lawmaker’s support for the bombing of Syria.
Found guilty of murder and preparing for terrorist acts, Ali was sentenced to a whole life term with no possibility of release, the most severe punishment in the British criminal justice system.
While delivering the sentence, Justice Sweeney said the murder “struck at the heart of our democracy” and warrants that Ali “be kept in prison for the rest of his life.”
During the trial, the court heard he spent years preparing for the attack and researched other high-profile politicians as potential targets.
Rebecca Hayton, Amess’ aide who witnessed the attack, said Ali stood up and said “sorry” before pulling out a knife and stabbing the politician “straight in the stomach.”
Tom Little, the prosecutor, said Ali “stabbed him multiple times in a vicious and frenzied attack.”
An autopsy revealed Amess suffered 21 stab wounds and died on the spot.
Ali said after the assault that he wanted “every parliament minister who signed up for the bombing of Syria, who agreed to the Iraqi war, to die.”
“I’ve done it because of Syria. I’ve done it because of the innocent people. I’ve done it because of the bombing. He deserved to die,” he said.
Amess, a father of five, spent 38 years as a lawmaker in the House of Commons. In a statement following the sentencing, his family said they felt “no elation” over Ali’s fate.
“Our amazing husband and father has been taken from us in an appalling and violent manner. Nothing will ever compensate for that,” read the statement.
“We will wake each day and immediately feel our loss. We will struggle through each day for the rest of our lives. Our last thought before sleep will be of David. We will forever shed tears for the man we have lost. We shall never get over this tragedy.”