Photograph by Kim Traynor
A second man has been charged with the “terrorist” murder of Lee Rigby in Woolwich, on 22 May.
28-year old Michael Adebolajo of Romford, Essex was charged with the murder of Lee Rigby as well as the attempted murder of two police officers and the possession of a firearm. He will appear at Westminster Magistrate’s Court on Monday. He has spent six days in hospital recovering from being shot by police and arrested on 22nd May.
The other man involved in the attack, 22-year old Michael Adebowale, of Greenwich, south-east London, was charged with the murder and possession of a firearm and appeared in court on 30th May.
The post-mortem examination found lee Rigby, 25, showed that his cause of death was “multiple incised wounds” in the attack. A number of witnesses filmed and photographed both suspects curing and after the attack on a busy Woolwich street in the afternoon on 22nd May.
12 people have been arrested in connection with the attack, with eight of those released on bail and two released without charge.
Thousands of people have paid their respects to Lee Rigby and laid flowers at the site of the attack.
In response to the attack, far right groups such as the English Defence League (EDL) and British National Party (BNP) have held demonstrations against what they claim is “the threat of radical Islam in the UK”. There has also been a notable rise in the number of “revenge attacks” against Muslims and Mosques across the country.
To counter these rallies, a number of groups including Unite Against Fascism have organised counter-protests supporting multi-culturalism in the UK, and Mosques across the country have opened their doors to their local communities to open a dialogue between groups. A Mosque on York received praise for welcoming in members of the EDL with tea an biscuits, and the Lewisham Islamic Centre yesterday welcomed all-comers with pizza and somosas.
On Friday, Lee Rigby’s family appealed for calm across the UK after reports of the rise in anti-Muslim attacks following his killing. In a statement they said that he would not have wanted his death to become an excuse for such violence, and hoped that people would “show their respect in a peaceful manner”.
