New wife of preacher of hate Omar Bakri Muhammad applies for UK asylum for herself and their two children - where he already has wife and eight children

• Extremist cleric Omar Bakri once praised 7/7 bombers as the 'fantastic four'
• He faces death sentence for running a terror cell in Lebanon
• His wife Ruba Bakri is applying for UK asylum on behalf of her family
• The preacher left his British wife and eight children when he fled in 2005
• Home Office spokesman said Bakri was 'permanently excluded' from the UK
• 
  

The Lebanese wife of extremist preacher Omar Bakri, who once praised the 7/7 bombers as the 'fantastic four', is applying for UK asylum for herself, her husband and their two children.

The radical Islamic cleric, who was once the subject of UK terror investigations, faces the death sentence for running a terror cell in Lebanon and claims he has been tortured, according to reports.

Ruba Bakri, 30, said that she is in the process of applying at the British Embassy in Beirut on behalf of her family, despite the fact that Bakri was permanently barred from the UK.

+3

The Lebanese wife of radical Islamic cleric Omar Bakri, pictured speaking at a 2002 rally, is applying for asylum for herself, her husband and their children - despite the fact that Bakri was permanently barred from the UK

When asked whether she was applying for asylum she said: 'In the UK and everywhere. For me, my husband and children, yes I am applying,' according to Lebanese newspaper An Nahar.

Speaking last month, a home secretary said: 'Omar Bakri Muhammad was permanently excluded from the UK in 2005 on the grounds that his presence is not conducive to the public good.

'As Omar Bakri Muhammad is excluded from the UK, he will be unable to make a claim for asylum.'

 

In 2005, Bakri told reporters in Beirut that he would never return to the UK.

He is currently in custody and is facing the death sentence in a trial which is expected to begin in Lebanon today.

Last month, he was formerly charged with being the mastermind of a terrorist cell in Tripoli, Lebanon, and is currently in prison awaiting trial.

Bakri left behind his British wife and their seven children when when he fled Britain in 2005. 

He married Mrs Bakri in 2008 and later had two more children.

+3

Destruction: Wreckage of the number 30 bus that was hit during the 7/7 attacks. Mr Bakri once praised the London bombers as the 'fantastic four' and was the subject of terror investigations in the UK

Mrs Bakri claims that the cell he is living inhumane, saying that he cannot squat to use the toilet.

Speaking to Lebanese press, she said: 'To say the least, I want them to change the cellar [sic] that he’s living in now, the bathroom, and that they give him the proper medication. 

'I don’t understand how he deserves this treatment. He didn’t do anything to get treated so horribly.'

+3

Bakri, who holds Syrian and Lebanese citizenship, lived in Britain for 20 years and led radical group Al Muhajiroun until it was disbanded

Authorities in Lebanon believe that Bakri is linked to Al Qaeda and is responsible for a series of attacks both on Army personnel in recent months and inciting sectarian fighting in Tripoli, which left 30 dead and over 160 wounded.

Bakri, who holds Syrian and Lebanese citizenship, lived in Britain for 20 years and led radical group Al Muhajiroun until it was disbanded.

The group's co-founder Anjem Choudary said in an earlier interview with Lebanese press that he was hoping that Al Qaeda’s chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would intervene and release western hostages in exchange for Bakri’s freedom.

Bakri, whose real name is Omar Bakri Fustoq, was arrested on May 25 and has always denied being part of Al Qaeda although he regularly speaks highly of their affiliated groups both in Syria and in Lebanon.

Bakri, who known as the Tottenham Ayatollah when he lived in London, faced possible treason charges over his support for the London bombers in 2005 and fled Britain for Lebanon.

\

He said the British people were to blame for the terror attacks on the capital because they ‘did not make enough effort to stop its own government committing its own atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan’.

He also sparked outrage when he said on TV that he would not inform police if he knew Muslims were planning a bomb attack on a train in the UK and supported Muslims who attacked British troops in Afghanistan.