‘Zionism is Racism’ motion creator described as ‘close friend’ of Al Qaeda terrorist
Lubna Speitan confirmed she is still close to Minh Quang Pham, who plotted to murder hundreds at Heathrow airport, claiming that he had been 'demonised'
The main architect of the Green Party’s “Zionism is Racism” motion attempted to testify in favour of an Al Qaeda terrorist convicted of attempting to bomb passengers arriving at Heathrow from Israel or the US, it has been revealed.
As reported by The Telegraph, Lubna Speitan was described in court documents in the US as a “close friend” of Minh Quang Pham, with the defence confirming that she was willing to testify.
Pham, who was extradited to the US in 2015 on terrorism charges, initially denied that he had intended to carry out the attack at Heathrow. While he pled guilty in 2016 to having been a part of Al Qaeda, he maintained that plans to carry out a suicide bombing at Heathrow were a “ruse”.
After the trial, however, further evidence was found showing detailed correspondence between Pham and Anwar Al-Awlaki, in which the specific plan to attack passengers at Heathrow was discussed. In 2025, Pham was re-sentenced to 44 years in prison after admitting his intention to kill hundreds of people at the UK’s largest airport.
When The Telegraph approached Speitan about her relationship with Pham, she initially described the question as “insulting”, saying that it had “no relation to the work I’m doing”, before going on to accuse The Telegraph of using “mainstream media” methods aimed at “demonising” Palestinians. When asked about Pham’s 44 year sentence, she said: “People are demonised for all sorts of things and wrongfully accused of all sorts of things.”
When asked about her relationship with Pham, Ms Speitan first described the question as “insulting” and said it had “no relation to the work that I’m doing”.
She described The Telegraph’s approach as part of “mainstream media” attacks that aimed to “demonise” Palestinians, before suggesting Pham had been wrongfully accused.
On the subject of Pham’s 44-year sentence, Ms Speitan replied: “People are demonised for all sorts of things and wrongfully accused of all sorts of things”, and confirmed that she still saw Pham as a close friend.
Other public comments made by Speitan include “we need to oppose the proscription of Hamas”, and, at a demonstration, that ““We will continue until we dismantle Zionism from the world, from every country. They will be shunned and inshallah that time will come when they are hunted in the same way as the Nazi oppressors were…It won’t happen without force.”
The Green Party has been widely condemned for passing the “Zionism is Racism” motion, proposed by Ms Speitan, at its conference on Sunday.