Suspect in London soldier's killing had been arrested in Kenya Published May 26, 2013
Associated Press
- This undated image released May 23, 2013, by the British Ministry of Defense, shows Drummer Lee Rigby, known as Riggers to his friends, who is identified by the MOD as the serving member of the armed forces who was attacked and killed by two men in the Woolwich area of London on Wednesday. (AP/MINISTRY OF DEFENCE)
- May 23, 2013: An armed police officer keeps guard as British soldiers march out of Buckingham Palace after the changing of the guard ceremony in London. (AP)
Next Slide Previous Slide NAIROBI, Kenya – A suspect in the savage killing of a British soldier on a London street was arrested in Kenya in 2010 near the East African country's border with Somalia, an anti-terrorism police official said Sunday.
Michael Adebolajo was believed to have been preparing to train and fight with the Al Qaeda-linked Somali militant group al-Shabab in 2010 when he was arrested with five others, Kenya's anti-terrorism police unit head Boniface Mwaniki told The Associated Press.
Mwaniki said that the suspect was then deported, however, Kenya's government spokesman said he was arrested under a different name and handed to British authorities.
"Kenya's government arrested Michael Olemendis Ndemolajo. We handed him to British security agents in Kenya and he seems to have found his way to London and mutated to Michael Adebolajo," spokesman Muthui Kariuki said. "The Kenyan government cannot be held responsible for what happened to him after we handed him to British authorities."
Kariuki said Adebolajo was traveling on a British passport, but he could not confirm if it was authentic.
When asked about reports that British embassy officials were involved, a Foreign Office statement said: "We can confirm a British national was arrested in Kenya in 2010. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office provided consular assistance as normal for British nationals."
British soldier Lee Rigby, 25, was run over and stabbed with knives in the Woolwich area in southeast London on Wednesday afternoon as he was walking near his barracks.
Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22, are suspected in the killing and remained under armed guard in separate London hospitals after police shot them at the scene.
The gruesome scene was captured by witnesses' cellphones, and a video picked up by British media showed one of the suspects, with bloodied hands, making political statements and warning of more violence as the soldier lay on the ground behind him.
Hardline Muslim leaders have identified the man in the video as Adebolajo, an Islam convert who allegedly used to take part in London demonstrations organized by British radical group al-Muhajiroun. The group catapulted to notoriety after the Sept. 11 attacks by organizing an event to celebrate the airplane hijackers, and was banned in Britain in 2010.
Anti-terrorism head Mwaniki rejected allegations that Adebolajo was tortured while in custody, but said the unit would further investigate.
Adebolajo's friend asserted in a BBC interview that Adebolajo became withdrawn after he allegedly suffered abuse by Kenyan security forces during interrogation in prison there. Mwaniki said at the time, there were no indications of torture or abuse.
Mwaniki said dozens of foreign youth are arrested every year attempting to cross the Kenyan border to join al-Shabab, which claims to be fighting a jihad or holy war against the Somali government and African Union forces.
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