Teen shouts ‘Allahu akbar’ and lunges at Olympic torchbearer

Muslim youth to stand trial for assault and assaulting a police officer

Ilan Ben Zion is an AFP reporter and a former news editor at The Times of Israel.

A Muslim teen tried to grab the Olympic torch out of the hands of its bearer as she passed through the town of Gravesend, outside London, on Friday.

He was charged with assault, assaulting a police officer and a public order offense, and was to appear at Medway Youth Court in Chatham, Kent on Sunday.

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According to the British media, the anonymous 17-year-old shouted “Allahu akbar” — Arabic for “God is great” — before lunging at torch-bearer Anna Skora.

In a video uploaded to YouTube, he jumped at Skora, but failed to snatch it from her grasp as escorting officers tackled him.

Skora, a Polish citizen, kept the torch upright and completed her section of the relay. She was not hurt in the incident.

 

 

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