'Lyrical Terrorist' found guilty in British court

Samina Malik


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LONDON (AFP) — A 23-year-old who called herself the "Lyrical Terrorist" and penned poems with titles including "How To Behead" has Thursday become the first woman to be convicted under terrorism legislation.

Samina Malik, who worked in a newsagent at London's Heathrow airport, was a "committed Islamic extremist who supports terrorism and terrorists," prosecutor Jonathan Sharp told the Old Bailey.

Malik, from Southall, west London, denied being a terrorist and said she used the nickname because she thought it was "cool".

She was convicted of possessing records likely to be useful in terrorism and bailed ahead of sentencing on December 6.

Judge Peter Beaumont warned her that she could face jail, adding: "You have been in many respects a complete enigma to me."

When police searched Malik's bedroom after arresting her last October, they found a document in which she said she wanted "the opportunity to take part in the blessed, sacred duty of jihad", prosecutors said.

"I always sit alone to think and ponder how it would be to unite with the Muslim ummah (community) and to go shoot rocket-launchers, help them load their ammunition, nurse the wounded, and what the atmosphere would be like," she added.

Her poem "How To Behead" contained the line: "It's not as messy or as hard as some may think/It's all about the flow of the wrist."

Officers found documents on her computer entitled "How To Win In Hand To Hand Combat," "How To Make Bombs" and "Sniper Manual", the court heard.

On an Internet social networking site called Hi-5, she described her favourite television shows as "watching videos by my Muslim brothers in Iraq, yep the beheading ones, watching videos by Osama bin Laden...and other videos which show massacres of the kaffirs (infidels)".