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July 6, 2007

UK: Al Qaeda Islamist Jailed

News from the Telegraph, Manchester Evening News, the Sun, BBC, the Herald, Bolton News and ITV:

A "sleeper agent" for Al Qaeda was yesterday jailed for nine years, with a recommendation that he be deported at the end of his sentence. He was convicted of hoarding car bomb manuals. 37-year old Omar Altimimi had arrived in Britain from the Netherlands in 2002, and had claimed asylum.

On his computer he had recipes for cyanide gas, and advice on suicide bombings, and recommended locations for such attacks. He had arrived in Britain with his wife and three children, and had lived in Bolton, Lancashire. He had links with Junade Ferouze (Feroze) of Blackburn, who had been jailed on June 15 for assisting Al Qaeda terrorist Dhiren Barot in his plans. What is disturbing is that on his computer were files detailing the use of gas canisters in car bombs. The recent plot which had two car bombs left in central London, and a Cherokee jeep driven into the entrance of Glasgow Airport on Saturday June 30 all involved vehicles containing canisters of propane gas.

Omar Altimimi had three separate identities - Abou Hawas, A.H.M. Abdullah, and the one he was convicted under. It was under the name Abou Hawas that he had tried to gain asylum. He had an Immigration and Nationality Directorate card from the Home Office, issued under the name Abdullah Mahr Abou Hawas. He was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court after being found guilty of six offenses under the Terrorism Act 2000 and two counts under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Altimimi had claimed $200,000 from the National Asylum Support Services, and kept this money in one of his eight bank accounts. He had first been noticed by police after he was involved in a $54,800 money-laundering operation, funds which had been stolen from the Yemen Tourist Board. On his computer he also kept videos of hostages in Iraq being killed by terrorists, and videos glorifying the Iraq insurgency. All of the documents on his computer were in Arabic.

Tim Barnes QC, prosecuting, had said during the trial: "There was a large number of files which were concerned with a variety of terrorist activities and which also included graphic and appalling video footage of the execution of those who had been taken hostage or were considered enemies by insurgent factions in Iraq... The terrorist content of this computer-held material becomes still more significant when we consider associations which the Crown can prove this defendant had with other terrorists convicted in Holland and France. He is associated through an address in Rotterdam with Arab terrorists in Europe. The Crown can also prove that he sent a money order to Thailand to a man who was subsequently convicted in his absence of terrorist offences in France."

Altimimi had been on trial with 29-year old Yusuf Abdullah aka Nashwan Gassar, who was charged with acquiring criminal property worth $109,220. He had pleaded guilty on Monday under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2000 and will be sentenced shortly. Another co-defendant, Bakhtiyar Berwiss, had been charged with bank transfer fraud, but had absconded while on bail.

Detective Chief Superintendent Tony Porter is head of Greater Manchester Police Counter Terrorism Unit. He said: "We will never know exactly what Altimimi was preparing to do but it was clear he had support and links with terrorists across the world."

Recorder of Manchester Judge Maddison said that Altimimi was a "sleeper" for a terrorist organization when he passed sentence, and recommended he be deported at the conclusion of his sentence. Altimimi had received nine years' jail for all the terrorism offenses, and 12 months for each money laundering offense, all to run concurrently.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at July 6, 2007 5:02 PM

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Posted by: Sir Henry Morgan at July 6, 2007 9:56 PM

Posted by: Fred at July 11, 2007 2:04 PM

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