Darren Osborne has been found guilty of murder and others attempted after rolling over a group of pedestrians with a van last year in Finsbury Park.

Darren Osborne, the man who on the night of June 19 of last year ran down a van to a group of people next to the London mosque in Finsbury Park, has been sentenced to a minimum of 43 years in prison. The jury found the neighbor of Cardiff, 48 years old and father of four children, guilty of murdering Makram Ali, as well as other attempts of murder, in what the judge has defined as “a terrorist attack”.

The judge has explained that Osborne planned “a suicide mission” and expected to be shot dead by the police. “His use of Twitter exposed him to racist and anti-Muslim ideology,” the judge said. “In a nutshell, he allowed his mind to be poisoned by those who claim to be leaders.”

During the trial, the defendant’s rich criminal past was known, which, according to the judge, demonstrates his “belligerent and violent character”. He had appeared in court on 33 occasions for 102 crimes, in the last 30 years.

In the rented van with which he perpetrated his attack, the police found a letter handwritten by Osborne, in which he referred to Muslims as “rapists” and “savages” who “abuse our children.” The jury heard that the defendant had developed an “obsession” with Muslims in the weeks leading up to the attack, watching the BBC series Three Girls. The series is about a scandal of abuse and sex trafficking in Rochdale, a city belonging to Greater Manchester, committed by a group of British of Pakistani origin, which sparked a public debate about whether the police had avoided investigating the case for fear of being accused of racism.

Photo Credits: AFP/PIXABAY