Ali Harbi Ali Wiki

                                                Ali Harbi Ali Biography

Who is Ali Harbi Ali ?

Sir David Amess’ killer was a soccer-loving aspiring doctor who spiraled into self-radicalization after seeing ISIS propaganda and Bashar al-Assad’s brutality in Syria.

Ali Harbi Ali, 26, grew up in Croydon, south London, with his mother and his three brothers, where neighbors described him as a “happy boy” who often played football in the street.

Ali attended Parish Church Junior and Infant School, now Minster Junior, in Croydon, which was a short walk from his home, and he is believed to have been one of the first Muslim pupils at the Christian school.

He was later joined there by his two sisters and his brother with teachers who remembered that Ali and his brothers all engaged in Christian practice, despite his Muslim faith.

One teacher said: ‘They were very happy in a Christian school and participated in our regular worship.

‘Ali wasn’t a great flyer, but he was a hard-working kid, especially good at math. We had a lot of naughty boys, but he wasn’t one of them.

“He would never have said that he was on his way to anything other than a positive result. He was not a child isolated and committed to his classmates.’

Teachers and former students described him as a “bright” and “pleasant” boy who enjoyed playing chess and soccer.

Ali stayed in school, intending to study medicine, but his work and attendance went downhill in the last two years, and he earned three A-levels with D and E grades.

He enrolled at City University to pursue a degree in radiation therapy, but dropped out in September 2016 for “personal reasons,” jurors heard.

Ali’s father, Harbi Ali Kullane, was a media adviser to a former Somali prime minister and is considered one of the leading figures in the British-Somali community.

Family

Kullane did not live with his family in London, but instead divided his time between the UK, Kenya and Mogadishu, the Somali capital, where he and his family are well known.

He is also said to have played a key role in counter-extremism programs in Mogadishu and has reportedly faced death threats from the Al-Shabaab terrorist movement, which controls parts of Somalia for his opposition to them.

Following Ali’s arrest, Kullane spoke of his shock at the murder of David Amess and said that he had been “very traumatized”.

Ali’s family is highly respected within the British-Somali community and his friends describe them as “liberal, open-minded” and not “particularly religious”.

They also enjoy extensive contacts among powerful politicians within Somalia.

At the time of his arrest, Ali was living with an aunt and two cousins ​​in Kentish Town, north London, while his father lived with his sister just a few miles away in Wood Green, north of London. From london.

Although he had never been in trouble with the police before, the court heard how he had radicalized himself starting in 2014.

Attacks

Ali considered traveling to fight in Syria, but in 2019 he decided on an attack in Britain.

His plans were interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

The following year, Ali set about investigating various MPs as potential targets, conducting repeated reconnaissance at the Houses of Parliament.

He focused on two MPs in particular, visiting the West London home of Home Secretary Michael Gove and the constituency office of Finchley MP Mike Freer.

Ali turned his attention to Sir David after learning about his constituency meeting on Twitter.

He went to meet him in Leigh-on-Sea armed with a £20 carving knife that he had bought in Argos some six years earlier.

According to witnesses, Ali wanted to be shot and killed by armed police after killing Sir David so he could die a “martyr”.

At his arrest, he admitted it was a terrorist attack and said, “I guess so, I killed a parliamentarian.”

The defendant, who described himself as a “moderate Muslim”, said he was out for “revenge” for UK support for airstrikes in Syria.

Ali told police that he had received instructions on how to carry out a knife attack from watching ISIS videos.

He had also downloaded images of the ISIS executioner known as ‘Jihadi John’, along with words encouraging ‘lone wolf’ attacks.

He showed no remorse for the murder and said it was “justified” but expressed concern about the impact on his family.

Ali said: ‘Most of the concern today has been, more or less, about my family, how they’re taking it, how they’re affected by it, you know?

“The only reason I dropped the knife in front of the police officer was because my sister was crying on the phone.”

He said that he became radicalized after seeing videos of the brutality carried out by Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

Prosecutor Tom Little QC described Ali as a “radicalised, fanatical and committed Islamist terrorist”.

He said the defendant committed “cold and calculated murder” due to a “warped, twisted and violent ideology.”

Ali had denied preparing for terrorist acts and murders, although his legal team refused to cross-examine witnesses and did not dispute the basic facts.

Jurors were also told that Ali had no mental health issues that could affect the case.

Ali was described by a former neighbor in Croydon as “just a normal lad”.

The resident said: ‘He seemed like a nice guy. He was just a down to earth kid who went to school and came back again.

However, Ali had not lived in south London for years and his family is believed to have left the area in the aftermath of the atrocity.

Ali Harbi Ali Quick and Facts

• Ali Harbi Ali grew up in Croydon, South London with mother and three siblings
• ‘Happy boy’ well behaved and hard working at school, according to teachers 
• Self-radicalised and considered travelling to fight in Syria with Islamic State 
• Downloaded images of Jihadi John and words encouraging ‘lone wolf’ attacks