Read what happened as the prosecution case in the trial of two men
accused of murdering the soldier outside Woolwich Barracks was opened
3:28 pm
Prosecutor
Richard Whittam QC has finished his opening speech to the jury.

The judge Mr Justice Sweeney told the jurors to come back to
court on Monday for a 12pm start.
3:21 pm
Adebolajo
later told officers: "I am a Muslim extremist, this may be the only chance
you meet one.
"Your
people have gone to Afghanistan and raped and killed our women. I am seeking
retribution I wouldn't stoop so low as to rape and kill women.
"I
thank the person who shot me, because it is what Allah would have wanted."
Adebolajo
added: "I love Allah more than my children."
At
hospital he told doctors he did not want to be touched by any women. He made no
reply to being arrested on suspicion of murder.
The
following day Adebolajo told another officer: "My intention was never to
harm civilians.
"There
were women and children around. My intention was to hurt military only."
He
added: "The reason that we are fighting is because we believe in an eye
for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
"We hope that one day Great Britain will replace those
corrupt politicians with men, or women, who truly care about the security of
their citizens by withdrawing from affairs of Muslims, including their
lands."
3:13 pm
The
jury were shown pictures of the bloodstained knives, the machete and the rusty
gun wielded by the killers.
Further
photographs showed the damage to the Vauxhall Tigra and its interior contents,
including the box of knives bought from Argos and a knife sharpener.

3:06 pm
Three
members of the Specialist Firearms Command were instructed to go straight to
the scene in their BMW X5.
They
were armed with Glock 17 self-loading pistols, Tasers and a Heckler and Koch
MP5 carbine, the court heard.
Adebolajo
by one officer as he ran at the car and another officer shot Adebowale as he
ran towards then holding a rusty gun, the court heard.
The
driver D49 then got out and used her Taser on Adebolajo.
Adebolajo,
who had suffered a gunshot wound to his upper left bicep, told paramedics:
"Please let me lay here. I don't want anyone to die. I just want the
soldiers out of my country."
He
added: "Your government is all wrong. I did it for my God. I wish the
bullets had killed me so I can join my friends and family."
As
he was lifted on to a trolley he said: "I want to thank the person who
shot me."
When
one of the paramedics tended to the wound in his arm, he said: "Allah gave
me this arm and you can do what you want with it."
Adebolajo
then claimed that British soldiers deserved to die for killing and raping women
in his land.
"Adebolajo
referred to living in peace under Sharia Law and constantly referred to the
Muslim faith and to his hatred for Christianity and British soldiers,"
said Mr Whittam.
In
the video Adebolajo said: 'The only reason we're doing this is Muslims are
dying daily by British soldiers and this is one of those soldiers so an eye for
an eye.
"We
will never stop fighting you until you leave us alone.
"When
you drop a bomb do you think it picks one person to kill or wipes out a whole
family.
"We
must fight - an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth.
"I
apologise that women had to see this today but in our land they see worse every
day.
"David
Cameron will be caught in the street.

2:56 pm
The
court heard that Adebolajo handed a letter containing religious references to
Ms Donnelly Martin.
It
said: "Fighting Allah's enemies is an obligation", and went on:
"Do not spend your days in endless discussion with the cowardly and
foolish.
"It
means that it will delay your meeting Allah's enemies on the battlefield.
Sometimes the cowardly and foolish can be those dearest to you. So be prepared
to turn away from them."
The
handwritten note suggested "carnage reaching your town" was
"simply retaliation for your oppression in our towns".
It
said when the "heat of battle" came, "it is unlikely that any of
your so-called politicians will be caught up in the the crossfire, so I suggest
that you remove them."

2:45 pm
In
footage played to the jury, Adebolajo is heard telling bystanders:
"soldiers go to our land and kill our people - so an eye for an eye, a
tooth for a tooth."
He
added: "An eye for an eye - you will never be safe until you leave us
alone."
Mr
Whittam said that killing to make a political point is still murder.
"To
seek out and kill political opponents on the grounds that you say that they
have oppressed your countrymen or people of your religion is still murder.
"Killing
to make a political point or to frighten the public to make a political point,
or to frighten the public to put pressure on the Government, or as an
expression of anger, is murder and remains murder whether the Government is in
question is a good one, a bad one, or a dreadful.
"Equally
there is no defence of moral justification ofr killing just as there is no
defence of religious justification.
"An
eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth suggests revenge or retaliation, and in
the context of this case, murder."

2:32 pm
Mr
Whittam explained how lorry driver Samuel Williams used his white Volvo to
block the sight of Lee Rigby's body from members of the public.
Another
witness saw Adebowale waving a gun in the air as Adebolajo talked to witnesses
at the scene.
Some
members of the public used their mobile phones to record Adebolajo speaking to
a crowd, the court heard.

1:48 pm
Video
footage of soldier Lee Rigby being mown down by a car and his alleged murderers
dragging his body into the middle of the road was shown to the jury today.
There
were gasps in oak-panelled Court Two of the Old Bailey as CCTV clips were
played, and relatives of the fusilier left the room in tears.
The
first piece of footage showed a Vauxhall Tigra, that prosecutors claim was
being driven by Adebolajo, swerve across Artillery Place in Woolwich, south
east London, and mow down the fusilier.

1:02 pm
The
Lee Rigby murder trial has now adjourned for lunch until 2pm.

12:58 pm
Witness
Tina Nimmo, who had been in a car with her daughter and her grandchild,
approached the attackers.
"She
does not know why she got out of the car but she could see other people around
and she did not want them to get hurt, especially as she saw that one of the
men had a gun." said Mr Whittam.
"She
saw the men drag Lee Rigby into the road."
She
warned others 'Go back, he's got a gun, go back' but many of them ignored her
and came to watch, the court heard.
Jurors were then shown CCTV of the killers dragging Lee
Rigby’s body into the road after the attack.
12:45 pm
Gary
Perkins described how Adebolajo sawed at the neck of Lee Rigby while Adebowale
tried to cut off parts of the body.
"He
described the actions as being like a butcher attacking a joint of meat,"
said Mr Whittam.
"He
did not see Lee Rigby move and thought that he was already dead. He could not
believe what he was seeing ."

12:43 pm
Amanda
Bailey was driving down the hill after an appointment at her son's school when
the Tigra cut across in front of her and accelerate into Lee Rigby.
She
stopped her car across the road and noticed that his eyes were open but
'frozen'. "He wasn't moving or making any noise," said Mr Whittam.
"He
was lying face up, with his legs pointing away from the bonnet. She tried to
dial 999 but in her angst she dialled 9999."
Adebolajo
then got out of the car and knelt down by Lee Rigby to take hold of his hair.
He
then repeatedly hacked at the right side of his neck just below the jawline
with 'considerable force', said Mr Whittam.
Amanda
Bailey described him bringing his hand up into the air each time before he
delivered a blow with the machete.
She
later told police: "I was so shocked that all I could do was sit there and
stare at what was happening. I couldn't believe what was going on.
"He
was determined and he wasn't going to stop. He didn't care."

12:04 pm
The
jury are shown CCTV stills and footage of the movements of the attackers in the
lead-up to the attack.
Adebolajo
and Adebowale are shown travelling in the Vauxhall Tigra towards Woolwich
Barracks.
Mr
Whittam tells the jury they will see CCTV footage of the moment Lee Rigby was
hit by the killers’ car.
Lee
Rigby was wearing a 'Help for Heroes' hooded sweatshirt and carrying an army
day sack when he travelled from Tower Gateway to Woolwich Arsenal by the
Docklands Lightlands Railway.
He
then walked along Wellington Street to Artillery Place before heading towards
a shop on the other side of the road.
The
jury watched in silence as CCTV footage was shown of the car hitting Lee Rigby
as he crossed the road.
It
shows the car veering sharply before hitting Lee Rigby from behind, throwing
him on to the bonnet.
"Mercifully
he appears to have been rendered unconscious by the impact," said Mr
Whittam.
The
car then hit a roadside stanchion and came to a stop.
"What
unfolded thereafter was shocking to those who observed it," said Mr
Whittam.
"What
is clear is that Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale were acting together.
It was a joint attack on Lee Rigby with a common purpose.
"They
joined in together attacking Lee Rigby and together they dragged his body into
the middle of the road."
The
impact was witnessed by shopkeeper Ibrahim Elidemir and Saraj Miah, who
described the car hitting Lee Rigby at a 'terrible speed', the court heard.
Mr
Whittam said: "The driver got out with a ''chopper'' in his hand. The
passenger got out with a knife in each hand.
"He
[Mr Miah] saw the driver attacking the throat of Lee Rigby with the chopper and
the passenger stabbing him to the body."

11:38 am
Adebolajo
bought a set of five kitchen knives and knife sharpener from Argos in Lewisham
the day before the killing, the jury heard.
On
the morning of 22 May Adebolajo filled up the car at a petrol station at Tesco
but claimed he had no money to pay and offered a white mobile phone in
exchange.
When
asked what else he had in his pockets he pulled out a copy of the Qu'ran - but
said he did not want to leave that with the shop assistant.
He
then drove towards Adebowale's home to pick him up, the court heard.

11:42 am
Jurors
were told that both men have admitted possession of a firearm with intent to
cause fear of violence.
Mr
Whittam told the court the defendants had been together for five hours before
the attack and added "it was clear" there had been an agreement to
attack the police when they arrived.
He
said: "It was a joint attack; Michael Adebolajo got very close indeed to
the driver's side of the police vehicle and had he not been shot it is
difficult to think that he would not have succeeded in killing a police
officer."
The
jury was shown images including maps indicating where Adebolajo and Adebowale
each lived, and an aerial photograph of the barracks.
Mr
Whittam then explained the movements of the defendants on the day Fusilier
Rigby died.
Adebowale
last saw his father on May 19 and they arranged to meet the following day but
Adebowale failed to show up at Charing Cross station, the court heard.

11:33 am
The
jury has heard that they also both conspired to kill a police officer when the
force arrived.

11:23 am
The
court heard Lee Rigby was born on 4 July 1987 and joined the army in July 2006.
After
completing his infantry training he was selected to be a member of the Corps of
Drums with the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Fusilier.
Mr
Whittam told the jury: 'You may have heard him referred to as Drummer Rigby -
that reflects the traditional role of Fusiliers.'
Lee
Rigby was first posted to Cyprus before travelling with the machine gun platoon
in Jordan.
In
2008 he returned to London and was an 'integral member of the Corps of Drums'
before being deployed to Helmand Province in Aghanistan.
After
his return to the UK he moved to Germany as part of the Small Scale Contingency
Battle Group before taking a recruiting post based at the Barracks in Woolwich.
As part of his duties he assisted at regimental HQ at the Tower of London.
Both
Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Adebowale, 22, are British citizens.
Adebowale,
known by his parents as Tobi, was brought up in the Christian faith and
converted to Islam when he was 17, adopting the name Ismael.
"Michael
Adebolajo made a serious and almost successful attempt to decapitate him with
multiple blows to his neck made with the meat clever," said prosecutor
Richard Whittam QC.
"At
the same time as Michael Adebolajo used the meat cleaver, Michael Adebowale was
using a knife to stab and cut at Lee Rigby's body.
"Both
men then dragged Lee Rigby's body into the middle of the road. They wanted the
members of the public present to see the consequence of their barbarous acts.
"They
had committed a cowardly and callous murder by deliberately attacking an
unarmed man in civilian clothes from behind using a vehicle as a weapon and
then they murdered him and mutilated his body with a meat cleaver and knives.
"Such
heinous behaviour is in distinct contrast to the bravery and decency shown by
some of the members of the public present."
Many
attempted to give first aid and one woman went to Lee Rigby's lifeless body and
stroked him "to provide some comfort and humanity", the court heard.

11:10 am
Prosecutor
Richard Whittam QC begins his opening speech to the jury.
"This
case involves the alleged murder of Lee Rigby. The circumstances of his death
are shocking.
"It
is important that you do not let emotion or sympathy affect your judgement in
this case.
"The
prosecution seeks only true verdicts on the evidence as you find it to be,
nothing more and nothing less.
'Shortly
after 2pm on Wednesday 22 May in Artillery Place in the Royal Borough of
Greenwich two men drove a Vauxhall Tigra car straight at Fusilier Lee Rigby as
he walked across the road.
"When
the car struck him it was travelling at something like 30-40 miles per hour.
From the eyewitness accounts it appears that Lee Rigby was rendered unconscious
by that deliberate act.
"The
car carried him from the road onto the pavement. There is no evidence to
suggest that the driver of the Tigra braked at any stage and it struck a
stanchion of the road sign with great force.
"Such
was the damage to the vehicle caused by the impact that it was difficult for
the front seat passenger to open his door.
"Both
men alighted from the Tigra. They were clearly acting together with a common
purpose. Unlike the initial impression formed by some members of the public
that this was an accident, it was not.

10:56 am
The
judge Mr Justice Sweeney told the jury not to allow themselves to be influenced
by media reports or any comments on the internet.
'You
must not allow yourselves to be influenced by any demonstrations outside the
court,' he added.
He
said they should avoid talking to anyone else about the case - including by
text or twitter.

10:38 am
Family members and loved ones of
soldier Lee Rigby arrive for the trial
Here
are family members and loved ones of soldier Lee Rigby arriving at the Old
Bailey this morning.
Among
them are Ian Rigby's stepfather (left), his sister Sara McClure (centre) and
his mother Lyn Rigby (second from right)..
Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale are standing trial
today following the conclusion of legal submissions.
Twelve
members of the jury have been selected for the start of the trial of two men
for the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby.
Michael
Adebowale, 22, and Michael Adebolajo, 28, sat in the dock of court two of the
Old Bailey while the clerk read out the names of the jurors.
Both
confirmed they understood that they could object to any of the jurors.

10:20 am
The
jury selection process began yesterday in wood-lined Court Two at the Old
Bailey, where potential jurors were each asked four questions to determine
their ability to try the case.
Fourteen
possible jurors were selected from a larger pool, and it is expected that the
12 final jurors will be selected on Friday, before the prosecution case opens.
The
potential jurors were asked:
::
Have you or any person with whom you have regular and close personal contact
been in the vicinity of a terrorist incident?
::
Are you or any person with whom you have regular and close personal contact
employed or have been employed by the Armed Forces, Police Force, Prison
Service, Security Services or the Crown Prosecution Service?
::
Is there any reason arising from your beliefs, past or present occupation or
any other matter that you feel may inhibit the essential requirement to return
true verdicts according to the evidence in this trial? In particular do you or
any member of your family or a relative or close friend hold political or
religious views of such strength that they might materially influence your
consideration of this case?
::
Is there some other compelling reason requiring you to be excused?
Mr Justice Sweeney told them: "It is an essential part
of a fair trial that the jurors who try the case must have no connection with
it whether direct or indirect, and must be able to reach true verdicts based on
the evidence rather than on any pre-conceived ideas, beliefs or
prejudices."
The
prosecution case in the trial of two men accused of murdering soldier Lee Rigby
is due to open today.
Michael
Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22, are charged with killing the Fusilier
as he walked back to Woolwich Barracks in south-east London on May 22.
They
are also each accused of attempting to murder a police officer on the same day,
and conspiracy to murder a police officer on or before that day.
Father-of-one
Fusilier Rigby, 25, from Middleton, Greater Manchester, died of multiple cut
and stab wounds when he was attacked as he returned to the barracks after
spending the day at the Tower of London.

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