Abu Hamza’s desperate plea to appeal US convictions
Former Finsbury Park preacher jailed in US tells his lawyer this bid would be “make or break”
ABU HAMZA is mounting a fresh legal battle in the US Supreme Court to challenge his terror convictions, as letters seen by The Daily Telegraph reveal desperate pleas to his lawyer for help.
The radical cleric, who notoriously preached at Finsbury Park mosque in north London, was convicted of 11 terrorism charges at a court in New York in 2014. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Letters to Michael Bachrach, his attorney, show the 60-year-old wishes to appeal against nine convictions. Hamza described the bid as “make or break” in a somewhat desperate plea for help to lodge the appeals.
In the letters, he appears to accuse Mr Bachrach of ignoring his requests for information concerning an appeal to a court judgment handed down in October. The ruling led to two of Hamza’s convictions being reversed, reducing the total from 11 to nine. The counts involved helping one of his followers travel to Afghanistan to join al Qaeda in 2000.
The reversal came after his lawyers argued that he had committed acts of terror against the US while in London, which at the time was not illegal under American law – this was amended in the wake of 9/11.
In November, Hamza wrote: “Please Michael, struggle to do my request in this letter … It is a make or break matter; I have no choice as I have no more room for manoeuvre. I am asking for the sincere effort not the result.”
Another letter, written this month, shows Hamza begging Mr Bachrach to contact him after failing to elicit a response. He wrote: “Dear Michael, I hope you are okay. I have not heard from you in some time. I never received any of what I have been requested for ages despite I sending you many reminders [sic].”
Mr Bachrach said he had responded but the level of security at the ADX Florence prison in Colorado meant communication was difficult but that his client was preparing to challenge the remaining charges in the highest US court.
Hamza’s appeal should be filed within two months, he added. If approved, judges will rule on Hamza’s case by 2021.
Mr Bachrach said he is likely to argue the court’s original verdict in 2014 was invalid amid claims that a witness received incorrect treatment. If the court accepts the argument, it can order
‘Please Michael, struggle to do my request. It is a make or break matter; I have no more room for manoeuvre’
a retrial, where Hamza could fight for acquittal or a lower sentence.
The 60-year-old will also request to be sent to the UK, where he was imprisoned for eight years before being extradited in 2012.
Hamza remains in solitary confinement in a “supermax” prison that holds some of America’s most dangerous criminals. Inmates include double agents from the Cold War and terrorists involved in 9/11 and the Boston marathon bombs in 2013.
Hamza is subject to “special administrative measures”, which restrict who he is able to contact.
He is allowed occasional visits to the prison’s law library.
He has previously said that the prison’s tough conditions are in breach of his human rights, and in 2017 unsuccessfully applied to be transferred to another prison.