The Muslim cleric Abu Hamza refused to appear in court yesterday because, he said, his toe nails were too long.Hamza, 47, had been due to appear at the Old Bailey by a video link from Belmarsh prison, south London, for a plea hearing.
He faces 16 charges of soliciting the murders of non-believers, including Jews, and stirring up racial hatred. But when the case was called, a prison officer told the video link: "He is refusing to come over here. He is being checked over by medical staff. He says he is unable to walk."
Paul Hynes, for Hamza, the former imam at the Finsbury Park mosque, north London, said that the cleric had a "particular physical difficulty". He said: "He has been perambulating around the prison in bare feet for the last few days. It is a long-standing problem." Adina Ezekiel, prosecuting, said Hamza was "complaining his toe nails are too long, which the Crown is rather cynical about".
I just broke a nail, can I go home now?
(tipped off by Nealenews)
5 comments:
*sting*
I suppose that one couldn't bring up a person on contempt of court charges for saying something that is so utterly insulting to its intelligence... :-)
If I was the justice hearing this case I would have the prison officials/guards brought up on contempt for allowing this man to get away with a stunt like this. This man was to be escourted from his prison cell to the video conference room located in the prison to link via camera to my court - what's this - the new jail? What's the point of having guards if the prisoners are allowed to do whatever they want?
In less civilized times, hunger-striking suffragettes were force-fed in British prisons. Now, excessively long toe-nails can cause delays?
Wow.
No, the person I would bring up on those would be Hynes, for having the temerity to make such an argument. As for the prison officials -- have they not heard a rather new invention? We call it the wheelchair.
That'd be "heard of a rather new invention"... one doesn't hear wheelchairs, unless they've been left in the rain and not oiled well.
I bet if the Provos are reading about this that they are hitting their heads against a wall - if only they had used the toenails defense!
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