https://arab.news/4q8h7
- Roshonara Choudhry was 21 when sentenced to a minimum of 15 years for stabbing Stephen Timms twice in the stomach
- Choudhry, now 36, participated in programs to understand her extreme beliefs, behavior was ‘exemplary,’ says panel
LONDON: A student who attempted to murder Labour MP Stephen Timms in May 2010 can be released from prison following a Parole Board decision.
Roshonara Choudhry was 21 when she was sentenced to a minimum of 15 years for stabbing Timms twice in the stomach, and was also charged with two counts of possessing an offensive weapon.
Choudhry, a former King’s College London student, was radicalized after watching lectures by an Al-Qaeda cleric, and her attack was believed to have been the first Al-Qaeda-inspired attempt to assassinate a politician on British soil.
Choudhry attacked the East Ham MP, the minister of state for social security and disability in the current UK government, while he held a constituency surgery at the Beckton Globe community center in east London. Following her arrest, she told police the stabbing was “punishment” and “to get revenge for the people of Iraq.”
During a Parole Board hearing on May 20, a panel decided to release her from prison. It added that her imprisonment “was no longer necessary for the protection of the public.”
Choudhry, now 36, participated in programs while in prison to understand her extreme beliefs, and her behavior was described by the panel as “exemplary.”
It added: “Ms Choudhry was assessed as having shown a very high level of insight and understanding of herself.
“She would no longer be likely to be influenced by other people with strong negative views, having developed the ability to critically evaluate information and to seek help from professionals if she needs it.”
The panel recommended Choudhry’s release on license, with conditions to live at a designated address, follow a curfew, and avoid contact with Timms.