Green member behind Zionism motion named as 'close friend' of jailed al-Qaeda supporter in court
A Green Party member who proposed a motion defining Zionism as racism has been linked in court documents to a convicted al-Qaeda supporter. The BBC reports that Lubna Speitan previously provided a character reference for a man jailed for plotting a suicide attack.
Why it matters
The report raises questions about the political associations of individuals influencing party policy and the vetting processes within political organizations.
Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Lubna Speitan gave evidence on behalf of a British national who was accused of plotting to carry out a suicide attack at Heathrow Airport
The Green Party member behind a motion which declared Zionism to be racism was named in court documents as a "close friend" of a man who was jailed after being accused of plotting a suicide bomb attack at Heathrow Airport.
Lubna Speitan, a British-Palestinian artist, proposed the Green conference motion defining Zionism as an ideology supporting "an ethnonationalist Jewish state".
Court documents from 2015 show she offered to testify as a defence witness in the trial of Minh Quang Pham, who was jailed for 40 years in the US after pleading guilty to supporting al-Qaeda. He denied planning a suicide attack.
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