Lubna Speitan, the Green Party member responsible for a conference motion declaring Zionism to be racism, has been identified in court filings as a “close friend” of Minh Quang Pham, a British national imprisoned in the United States for supporting al-Qaeda.
US legal documents from 2015 reveal that Speitan was prepared to serve as a defense witness for Pham, who was sentenced to 40 years after pleading guilty to charges related to his support for the Islamist militant group. Prosecutors alleged that Pham had been directed by al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki to detonate explosives in the arrivals area of Heathrow Airport.
The Vietnamese-born British citizen was arrested at Heathrow in July 2011 following a seven-month stay in Yemen, where he had reportedly received training. He was found with a live round of ammunition before being extradited to the US.
In the court papers, Speitan was described as someone who would provide “critical testimony regarding Pham’s mental state,” which was deemed crucial for establishing a mental health defense. The documents noted that a medical condition prevented her from giving evidence in person.
Speitan also wrote a letter to the presiding US District Judge in 2016, describing Pham as one of the “kindest, honest, most sincere” people she had ever known. She suggested that if the judge truly understood the man she and others respected, the case might have been dismissed entirely. While acknowledging he may have had behavioral issues, she characterized him as trustworthy and respectful. No evidence in the documents suggests she was aware of his criminal activities during their acquaintance.
Speitan is the artist who proposed the motion defining Zionism as an ideology supporting an “ethnonationalist Jewish state.” The motion, passed on Sunday, calls for a single democratic Palestinian state across all of historic Palestine, including modern-day Israel. Its adoption triggered significant controversy, leading to Israel banning Green Party leader Zack Polanski from entering the country. Jewish organizations condemned the policy as an attack on their community, and several Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs referred the party to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The Telegraph reported that when asked if she remains friends with Pham, Speitan confirmed the friendship continues. She was quoted as believing Pham had been “targeted” by the legal system.
A spokesperson for the Green Party stated that Speitan holds no official position within the organization and emphasized that the party takes all such allegations seriously. The spokesperson added that internal processes exist to investigate members whose views conflict with party values.
The revelation comes amidst growing internal division within the Greens. Phil Davies, the party’s deputy leader in Wales, resigned and canceled his membership on Tuesday, calling the motion “the final nail in the coffin.” Several other Green councillors have also stepped down since the vote. In response to the backlash, leader Zack Polanski, who is Jewish, issued a statement affirming that antisemitism must remain distinct from criticism of the Israeli state and that no one should be excluded from the party due to their religious or communal background.
Does the party plan to investigate this properly? Members deserve transparency rather than vague statements about internal processes.
I had no idea about this connection. It’s shocking to learn she wrote such a supportive letter to someone convicted of al-Qaeda ties.
This is a serious revelation. If true, it deeply undermines the party’s moral standing and raises real questions about their judgment.