A Ukrainian student was convicted in the United Kingdom for the murder of a Muslim man and bombing several mosques throughout central England, The New Jersey Herald reported.
Pavlo Lapshyn, 25, pleaded guilty to murdering Mohammed Saleem, 82, as he was walking home from a mosque in Birmingham in April.
He also pleaded guilty to planting homemade bombs outside of three mosques near Birmingham throughout June and July. Although they exploded, no one was injured in the blasts.
Following his arrest in July, authorities discovered bomb-making tools at his home in addition to a video game called "Ethnic Cleansing," where players have to kill non-Caucasians. They also found images on the Boston Marathon bombing.
Officials claimed Lapshyn, who was in England on a work placement, was a white supremacist driven by racism to commit the murder and bombings. During questioning, he told police that "the Muslims will have to leave our area."
As he was being sentenced on Friday, Judge Nigel Sweeney told him his "views, hatred and motivations have no place whatsoever in our multifaith and multicultural society."
Sweeney also read aloud a statement written by Saleem's family.
"Dad did not die of old age or illness, he died because he was stabbed violently in the back by a gutless coward who did not have the courage to face him before he took his life away," he said.
"Our mother weeps to this day. She was minutes away from him. She could have saved him and she will always blame herself for this."
He was also ordered to complete at 40-year prison sentence before being eligible for release.
According to Reuters, attacks on Muslims and mosques in England increased following the murder of a British soldier, Lee Rigby, in May, causing several demonstrations from anti-Islamic and far-right organizations.
One hour after the funeral for Rigby, Lapshyn set off a bomb at a mosque in Walsall, though there were only few worshippers there since a prayer service was pushed back.
