Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Suicide bomb' CCTV shown to jury

A jury has been shown CCTV footage of the moment an alleged suicide bomber tried to detonate a device on a London underground train on 21 July 2005.
The pictures taken on a train near Oval station, south London, were played to the jury at Woolwich Crown Court.
Muktar Ibrahim, Manfo Asiedu, Hussein Osman, Yassin Omar, Ramzi Mohammed and Adel Yahya deny conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause explosions.
Prosecutors allege the failed bid was planned before the 7 July 2005 attacks.
The footage shows Mr Mohammed, 25, boarding the train with a rucksack, and turning so that the rucksack on his back faces towards a mother and her child before apparently trying and failing to detonate a bomb.
The jury watched as the CCTV footage showed all the passengers on board the carriage trying to get away from the scene except for fireman Angus Campbell who remonstrated with Mr Mohammed.
"Mohammed said not that it was a bomb but rather 'what's the matter, it is bread, it isn't me, it was that', pointing to the rucksack," prosecuting counsel Nigel Sweeney QC said.
Mr Mohammed is later seen running up the escalator after the train had arrived at Oval as he made his way out of the station, chased by several members of the public.
Later on in Tuesday's proceedings, the jury heard the contents of what the prosecution says is a suicide note written by Mr Mohammed.
He wrote of being admitted "to the highest station in paradise", Mr Sweeney said.
It was also thought the plotters made a suicide video, Mr Sweeney added.
'Crowded platform'
The court also heard details of Mr Omar's alleged failed attempt to detonate his bomb on a Victoria Line tube approaching Warren Street station.
Afterwards, as he fled Warren Street station, heading north up Hampstead Road, Mr Omar approached two women in full Muslim dress, Mr Sweeney said.
"He demanded of the younger woman that she take him to her home," Mr Sweeney added.
"When she declined he said words to the effect of 'What kind of Muslim are you not helping another Muslim?'"
Mr Osman, meanwhile, is alleged to have tried to set off a bomb in his rucksack on a Hammersmith and City line tube between Latimer Road and Shepherd's Bush.
"Some passengers recall him being thrown off his feet and landing on the floor of the carriage still wearing his rucksack," Mr Sweeney said.
When the train had arrived at the open air Shepherd's Bush station, Mr Osman had squeezed himself between two carriages to hide before escaping over a trackside wall, Mr Sweeney added.
The court was also shown footage of Mr Ibrahim trying to set off his bomb on the top deck of a number 26 bus in Shoreditch.
As with all the other instances, the main explosive charge in the bomb failed to explode.
Mr Sweeney said that, while fellow accused Mr Yahya and Mr Asiedu had not tried to detonate bombs, they had "played a full part" in the bomb plots as "knowing conspirators".
"Not every soldier can fight on the frontline," he added.
The prosecution has said all of the men were would-be suicide bombers except for Mr Yahya, who was out of the country on 21 July 2005.
Mr Asiedu allegedly lost his nerve at the last moment and dumped his bomb.
'Not copycat'
Earlier, the jury heard that components for the devices started to be bought in late April or early May and that a "bomb factory" had been set up at the flat of Mr Omar in New Southgate.
"The events with which you are concerned... are plainly not some hastily-arranged repetition of the devastating events of 7/7, plainly not some hastily-arranged copycat," Mr Sweeney said.
He said the defendants had chosen to mount their attack at lunchtime to avoid enhanced rush hour security in the wake of the 7 July bombings.
'Suicide note' read to plot trial
The July 21 bomb plot trial has heard the contents of what the prosecution says is a suicide note written by the one of the defendants.
Ramzi Mohammed wrote of being admitted "to the highest station in paradise", prosecutor Nigel Sweeney QC said.
It was also thought the plotters made a suicide video to explain their reasons for the bombings, Mr Sweeney added.
Mr Mohammed and five other men deny conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause explosions in London.
'For Allah'
The note, allegedly signed by Mr Mohammed and found in his friend's flat, begins with a quote from the Koran.
"Verily he [Allah] grants martyrdom, whomever he wishes," it continues.
"Secondly, my family don't cry for. But instead rejoice in happiness and love.
"What I have done [is] for the sake of Allah for he loves those who fight in his sake."
Mr Sweeney told the jury how Mr Mohammed urged his family to "hold tight for the rope of Allah and don't let go" and to pray "five daily prayers so that you may be saved from hell".
Mr Mohammed also called on his two sons to "be good Muslims... and you shall see me again in paradise, God willing," Mr Sweeney added.
Mr Sweeney also said that, when police raided Mr Mohammed's flat in Dalgarno Gardens, North Kensington - eight days after the alleged attempted bombings on the London public transport network - they found a camera tripod along with an Islamic headband and a wall banner containing Arabic writing.
When fellow accused Hussein Osman was arrested in Rome, he was in possession of a digital camera which had had its memory card removed, Mr Sweeney added.
Mr Sweeney claimed that when the bombs failed to explode on July 21 1995, the defendants realised they had to cover their tracks and dispose of the video.
Mr Osman later told police in Italy that it was not an attempted suicide bombing but simply a hoax designed to "frighten people" and make a political point.

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