Islamist couple jailed for uploading “vile” videos glorifying Lee Rigby’s murder to YouTube

Lee Rigby. Photograph courtesy of the Ministry of Defence

A British Islamist couple have been jailed after pleading guilty to charges of glorifying the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby in a series of YouTube video.

Royal Barnes, 23, and his wife Rebekah Dawson, 22, from Hackney in east London, admitted making three videos after the death of Lee Rigby outside Woolwich Barracks on 22 May 2013.

The couple can be seen laughing hysterically about the murder as they drove by the site of the attack in one of the videos, and in another they describe his death as a “glorious day”.

Barnes also posted a message on Facebook inciting others to commit similar acts, with the status posting on 12 June 2013 saying:

“Any1 who kills an invading soldier in Muslim land I will give them a Vauxhall Astra 3door and money [French British American any kaffir soldier take ur pick].”

Barnes pleaded guilty on three counts of disseminating a terrorist publication and one of inciting murder, and was sentenced to five years and four months in jail.

Dawson admitted to disseminating a terrorist publication and was sentenced to 20 months behind bars.

Mari Reid, of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Counter Terrorism Division, said:

“While the whole country was unified in grief and horror in the wake of Fusilier Lee Rigby’s death last year, Royal Barnes and his wife sought to take advantage of the situation to promote their extremist views. Royal Barnes went further, using the savage attack on Fusilier Rigby to encourage others, via Facebook, to murder British, French and American soldiers.

These were not throwaway comments from a thoughtless individual, but the hardened beliefs of an extremist.

We pride ourselves in Britain on allowing the right to free speech to flourish. But the vile views posted online by Royal Barnes and Rebekah Dawson justified and glorified terrorist attacks, and tried to foster hatred in our communities.”