21 July 2005 London bombings trial
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On 15 January 2007 six men appeared at
Woolwich Crown Court Woolwich Crown Court, or more accurately the Crown Court at Woolwich, is located at 2 Belmarsh Road, Thamesmead is one of twelve Crown Court centres serving Greater London. It is adjacent to both HM Prison Belmarsh and Belmarsh Magistrates' C ...
in connection with the attempted
21 July 2005 London bombings On Thursday, 21 July 2005, four attempted bomb attacks by Islamist extremists disrupted part of London's public transport system as a follow up attack from the 7 July 2005 London bombings that occurred two weeks earlier. The explosions occur ...
on
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
public transport. On 9 July 2007 the jury found Muktar Said Ibrahim, Yassin Omar, Hussain Osman, and Ramzi Mohammed guilty of conspiracy to murder, and each man was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 40 years. The jury failed to agree on verdicts on two other defendants, and a retrial started on 12 November 2007.Date set for '21/7 plot' retrial
/ref>


Convicted defendants

* Muktar Said Ibrahim, of Stoke Newington, was convicted of attempting to detonate an explosive device on a bus in Hackney,
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 40 years. *
Yasin Hassan Omar Yasin Hassan Omar (sometimes spelt Yassin; born 1 January 1983) was convicted for his role in the attempted 21 July attacks on London's public transport system. He was found guilty of attempting to detonate a device on the London Underground Vic ...
, a
Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: ๐’ˆ๐’๐’‘๐’›๐’๐’˜๐’•๐’–; ar, ุงู„ุตูˆู…ุงู„, aแนฃ-แนขลซmฤl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
national, was convicted of attempting to detonate a bomb on a
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...
train near Warren Street station and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 40 years. * Hussein Osman, of Stockwell, south London, was convicted of attempting to detonate a bomb on a train near Shepherd's Bush Market station and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 40 years. * Ramzi Mohammed, of North Kensington, west London, was convicted of attempting to cause an explosion on a train near Oval station and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 40 years.


Retrial

* Manfo Kwaku Asiedu was accused of involvement in the plot, and dumping his bomb in a London park after changing his mind about detonating his device. He was later sentenced to 33 years in prison. *Adel Yahya, of
Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Wal ...
, was accused of assisting his co-defendants in planning the attacks. He later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.


The allegations

Nigel Sweeney QC, barrister for the prosecution alleged that the defendants were part of an extremist Muslim plot to cause deadly explosions similar to those which killed over 50 people on 7 July. It was alleged that they made explosive devices at the home of Mr Omar. Muktar Said Ibrahim, Yassin Omar, Hussein Osman and Ramzi Mohammed were all accused of attempted suicide bombings and Sweeney claimed on the second day of the trial that Manfo Kwaku Asiedu "lost his nerve at the last moment".


The defendants' claims

Hussein Osman claimed that the device he set off on an underground train was a hoax and was not intended to injure passengers. His claim was that it was a protest against the war in Iraq. This claim was also made by Yassin Omar towards the end of the trial. In rejecting these claims the prosecution pointed to the apparent lack of planning for the aftermath of the explosions. The attempted bombers did not contact media organisations, and dispersed by various routes that showed no prior planning. Mr Yahya claimed that the reason he and his co-defendants had purchased large quantities of
hydrogen peroxide Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula . In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscous than water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usually as a dilute solution (3%โ ...
was to bleach wood.


Evidence shown

The court was shown what appeared to be a suicide note written by Muktar Said Ibrahim. The court was shown surveillance photographs of five of the accused on a camping trip in the lake district. It is said that the men were running up and down the hill in an "organised way". In the second week of the trial the jury was told that almost 200 hydrogen peroxide bottles were found in bins at the block of flats where the suspects are accused of making the devices. The prosecution claims that fingerprints belonging to defendants were found on the bottles. The jury were shown two videos which were allegedly found in homes of the defendants: footage on the tapes shows an alleged "jihad rap video" and filming of the beheading of an unidentified victim. Another tape showed what appeared to be instructions of how to make a suicide bomb vest. An expert from the government's Forensic Explosives Laboratory told the court that particles of an explosive substance were found at the home of Ramzi Mohammed. The expert explained that the explosive could be made at home with the right knowledge. Film showing a mixture of flour and hydrogen peroxide bubbling and smoking at Shepherd's Bush Tube station was shown in court. The prosecution alleges that this mixture was intended to explode. CCTV footage showing Mr Asiedu at an amusement arcade on 21 July was shown to the jury.


Key figures in the trial

14 barristers were involved in the trial. Some of the key people were: * Mr Justice Fulford, a High Court Judge and one of 18 judges that preside at the International Criminal Court * Nigel Sweeney QC, Main barrister for the prosecution *George Carter-Stephenson QC, barrister representing Muktar Said Ibrahim *Stephen Kamlish QC, barrister for Manfu Kwaku Asiedu *Anthony Jennings QC, barrister for Hussein Osman *Peter Carter QC, barrister For Yassin Omar *Stephen Williamson QC, barrister for Ramzi Mohammed *Peter Thornton QC, barrister for Adel Yahya


See also

* Muktar Said Ibrahim * Manfo Kwaku Asiedu *
Osman Hussein Osman Hussain (also Hussain Osman or Hamdi Isaac) (born 27 July 1978) is a terrorist who was found guilty of having placed an explosive at the Shepherd's Bush tube station during the failed 21 July 2005 London bombings. Born in Ethiopia, Hussain ...
* Yassin Omar * Ramzi Mohammed * Adel Yahya


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:21 July 2005 London Bombings Trial 2007 in London
Trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal ...
Trials in London Trials in 2007