Darren Osborne, a Singapore-born man was found guilty of driving a van into Islamic worshippers outside a London mosque, killing one person and injuring nine others in June 2017. According to British media, Osborne was born in Singapore in 1969. However, neither the media nor the law authorities revealed more information about his Singapore connection.
The court heard that Darren Osborne was brainwashed after watching a television programme about a child sex ring scandal operated by a gang of Muslim men in northern England. During the hearing, the prosecution told the court that Osborne was brainwashed by extreme right media. After hitting worshippers with his van, Osborne loudly said that he wants to kill more Muslims.
The prosecutors revealed that Osborne was driven by extreme Islamophobic thoughts, and he considered Islam believers as extremists, rapists and a paedophilic gang. During the investigation, police found that Osborne has searched for extreme right figures like Tommy Robinson, English Defense League founder, and Paul Golding, Britain first leader in his computer.
"I've done my job, you can kill me now," said Osborne after completing his mission, stated a witness during the hearing.
At the court, Osborne had pleaded not guilty and he claimed that a man named Dave has driven the van as it hit the worshippers in front of the mosque. However, prosecutors made it clear that Dave is just an imaginary character, and added that there are no visual or witness evidence to prove that a second man was there in the van during the time of the attack. Osborne's partner Sarah Andrews also told the court that he was brainwashed by right-wing ideas, and it compelled him to do such a dreaded deed.
Dean Haydon, the head of Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command said that Osborne's case is a classic example of on how individuals can be radicalized very quickly.
"Individuals can become hate-fuelled and decide to do an attack with something that's very simple, very crude, unsophisticated. That kind of phenomenon, certainly over the last year and beyond, is a concern for us. They are an emerging threat," Haydon told reporters.
