Two British men have been convicted of stabbing and nearly decapitating a British soldier on a London street as he was returning to is barracks.
Michael Adebolajo, 29, and Michael Adebowale, 22, pleaded not guilty when they were arrested for the May 22 murder of Drummer (Private) Lee Rigby of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
Rigby, an Afghan war veteran, was walking to the Woolwich barracks in south London when Adebolajo and Adebowale ran down Rigby with a car in broad daylight. Rigby, 25, was then stabbed and nearly decapitated. After the attack a passer-by caught Adebolajo on video covered in blood with a cleaver and knife in his hand, Fox News reported.
The jury at London's Central Criminal Court deliberated for 90 minutes before handing in the guilty verdict.
"This has been the toughest time of our lives and no one should have to go through what we have been through as a family," the private's wife, Rebecca Rigby, said. "These people have taken away my baby's dad, but Lee's memory lives on through our son and we will never forget them," The Guardian reported.
Adebolajo, whose family is Nigerian, said their actions were revenge for the many murders the British military carried out abroad. Both Adebolajo and Adebowale converted to Islam and claim to be "soldiers of Allah," Fox News reported.
"An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," Adebolajo said in the video.
"We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you," Adebolajo said in the video, according to Reuters. "The only reason we've killed this man today is because Muslims are dying daily by British soldiers."
The two men remained on the scene after the attack and charged a police car when authorities arrived. The men were charged with attempted murder of an officer, but were later acquitted of that charge. The judge said he would hold off on sentencing until an appeal court rules on the use of life sentences in January 2014, The Guardian reported.
