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April 11, 2008

UK: Muslim Doctor Admits Terror Charge

News from The Scotsman, Scotsman (update), Agence France-Presse, Telegraph, Telegraph (2), Evening Standard, The Times, Independent, Monsters & Critics, Liverpool Echo, In the News, International Herald Tribune, The Times (2), Guardian, BBC, 4RFV, ITV and the Australian:

As described earlier: At 1.30 am local time on the morning of Friday June 29 (2007), a green Mercedes was found outside a nightclub in Haymarket, central London, with smoke filling its interior. Containing propane gas cylinders, nails and 60 liters of gasoline, the vehicle was parked outside a busy nightclub on its "ladies' night". Another vehicle which had been illegally parked not far from the Tiger Tiger nightclub had been towed to Park Lane to be impounded. Staff at the car pound noticed a strong smell of gasoline, and later this vehicle was found to be a car bomb. Both vehicles were designed to be triggered by cellular phone. The Haymarket vehicle had received two calls during the time it was left outside the nightclub, but the detonation devices failed to ignite.


At 3.30 pm on Saturday June 30, a blazing Cherokee Jeep careered into the front entrance of Glasgow Airport in Scotland. Children had just ended their school terms, and there were several families at the airport. Two men were in the vehicle. They jumped out of the Jeep, and one poured gasoline over himself. The other, shouting "Allahu Ackbar" and trying to throw punches, was wrestled to the ground by police and passers by. The burning man was hosed down by police, but received 90% burns. He was taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital at Paisley, near Glasgow.

The man who was burned, 27-year old Kafeel Ahmed, had worked as a locum doctor at the Royal Alexandra shortly before the incident. He remained in hospital, but died on August 3.

Several individuals were arrested after the attacks, with most of these being doctors employed by Britain's National Health Service (NHS). One of those arrested was Sabeel Ahmed, the brother of Kafeel Ahmed. He was apprehended on June 30 near Lime Street station in Liverpool. The brothers came from Bangalore in India. It was soon revealed that they belonged to the extreme sect known as Tablighi Jamaat. Today, Sabeel Ahmed, aged 26, appeared in court at the Old Bailey.

Prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw told the court today that Kafeel Ahmed had sent Sabeel an email message before he attacked Glasgow airport.

The message read: "Inshallah by the time you get this message I should have achieved one of the two goals by the will of Allah. I sincerely apologise and pray that you forgive me for keeping this from you. It was for your safety and for the sake of the project.

The other email contained my will. In case I am caught please delete it before reading. Otherwise please delete once you have gone through. Never check this email again on your computer. Delete internet files, and delete cookies. Delete the downloaded txt file. May Allah... reward you for the troubles. Your brother Abu Abdurahman."

Sabeel Ahmed pleaded guilty to "failing to disclose information relating to an act of terrorism". He was sentenced by Mr Justice Calvert-Smith to eighteen months in prison. He has already served time in prison since his arrest, he will instead be voluntarily deported to India.

The email messages had only been seen by Sabeel Ahmed after the attack upon Glasgow Airport and the potential attacks in London's West End had already taken place. Therefore Mr Justice Calvert-Smith acknowledged that there was nothing that Sabeel Ahmed could have done to avert the terrorist attempts. The maximum possible sentence that could have been imposed was five years.

However, Sabeel knew from the message the identity of the bombing plotters, and did not reveal these, even after his arrest. He was also in possession of Kafeel Ahmed's laptop computer.

Prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw QC said: "He (Sabeel) came into possession of significant information about the attack and those responsible for it and thereafter failed to make the required disclosure."

The prosecutor gave further details of the bombing plans. He said that Kafeel Ahmed and his accomplices had wanted to commit bomb attacks across Britain at "clubs and places of entertainment where the devastating effect and loss of life would be the greatest."

Two other individuals will be tried later this year. They are Bilal Abdulla and Mohammed Asha. Dr Bilal Abdulla was in the flaming Jeep with Kafeel Ahmed at Glasgow airport, and was arrested at the scene.

Mr Laidlaw told the court: "When outside the terminal, Kafeel Ahmed, who was driving the Jeep, turned the vehicle sharply and crashed it into the pillars to the right-hand side of one of the entrance doors. He then, having found himself from his perspective out of position, reversed the Jeep and made the first of a number of attempts to drive the vehicle through the airport door, repeatedly hitting pillars and the door frame.

At the same time the driver, the defendant's brother, began to pour and splash fuel from a can on to the area outside the car window and appeared to throw a petrol bomb. He got out of the vehicle and was engulfed in flames that swept around the Jeep and terminal building. He appeared to try and prevent others from getting to him or the vehicle. He kicked out but eventually, he being on fire, he was extinguished, subdued, handcuffed and arrested."

Mr Laidlaw said that the two Mercedes vehicles which had been left in the West End as potential car bombs had been purchased in Warrington and Sheffield. The devices which were designed to detonate inflammable substances in the car were made in Paisley in Scotland.

He said: "The failure of the vapour to ignite in each vehicle, despite the activation of at least one device, was probably due to the fuel/air ratio exceeding ignition levels. Phone records show that there had been a number of attempts by the two men to activate the devices."

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at April 11, 2008 6:44 PM

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