Father of suspect in British MP slaying is 'traumatized'
The father of a man held for the fatal stabbing of a British
lawmaker during a meeting with local voters has told British media that he was
shocked and "traumatized" by his son's arrest, as police continued
questioning the suspect under terrorism laws.
Harbi Ali Kullane, a former adviser to Somalia's prime
minister, said counter-terrorism police had visited him, according to the
Sunday Times.
"I'm feeling very traumatized. It's not something that
I expected or even dreamed of," he was quoted as saying.
British authorities have not released the name of the
suspect in the killing of 69-year-old Conservative lawmaker David Amess Friday,
but British media reported the suspect was Ali Harbi Ali, 25, believed to be a
British citizen with Somali heritage.
Amess, a long-serving lawmaker, was stabbed multiple times
during a regular meeting with his constituents at a church in Leigh-on-Sea, a
town about 40 miles (62 kilometers) east of London.
The Metropolitan Police has described the attack as
terrorism and said early investigations suggested "a potential motivation
linked to Islamist extremism," without giving details.
It is unclear what, if any, the suspect's connection to
Amess was.
Police have been granted extra time to question the suspect,
who was arrested on suspicion of murder but has not yet been charged.
The BBC and others reported that the suspect was referred to
a government program aimed at preventing people from supporting extremism some
years ago, but said he was not a formal subject of interest for security
services.
Many in the seaside town of Leigh-on-Sea have laid flowers
in tribute to Amess, a father of five who has served in parliament since 1983
and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2015.
A church service in the town is planned for later Sunday. In
north London, police investigating the killing continued to search an apartment
and another address, as officers stood guard outside.
Friday's killing renewed concern about the risks politicians
run as they go about their work. The attack came five years after Labour
lawmaker Jo Cox was killed by a far-right extremist in her constituency in West
Yorkshire.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said Sunday that officials are
reviewing security arrangements for lawmakers, and the measures being
considered include police protection during regular meetings, known as
"surgeries," between lawmakers and their constituents.
But Patel added that she did not believe that the killing of
Amess should change the relationship between lawmakers and their voters.
Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons, said he was
working closely with the Home Office and the police to identify ways to improve
lawmakers' safety. But, like Patel, he said "we should not hide
away."
"The very essence of being an MP (Member of Parliament)
is to help and be seen by our constituents. They are the people who elected us
to represent them, so surely making ourselves available to them is the
cornerstone of our democracy?" Hoyle wrote in The Observer and Mail on
Sunday newspapers.
The Council of Somali Organizations, which works with Somali
communities across the U.K., condemned the killing, saying it was an
"affront to all of our values and our democratic society itself."
Source ctvnews
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