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 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 ...

Victoria line The Victoria line is a London Underground line that runs between in south London and in the north-east, via the West End. It is printed in light blue on the Tube map and is one of the only two lines on the network to run completely underg ...

tube train between

Warren Street Warren Street is a street in the London Borough of Camden that runs from Cleveland Street in the west to Tottenham Court Road in the east. Warren Street tube station is located at the eastern end of the street. History The street is crossed b ...

and

Oxford Circus Oxford Circus is a road junction connecting Oxford Street and Regent Street in the West End of London. It is also the entrance to Oxford Circus tube station. The junction opened in 1819 as part of the Regent Street development under John ...

tube stations.BBC News UK – Bombings police search seized car
/ref> In August 2005 police gave his age as 24 after his arrest.BBC News UK – London bomb suspect Omar charged
/ref>

Omar's background

Omar was originally from

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...

and arrived in the UK as a child dependent of

asylum seeker An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and m ...

s, in 1992. He was granted

indefinite leave to remain Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or permanent residency (PR) is an immigration status granted to a person who does not hold the right of abode in the United Kingdom (UK), but who has been admitted to the UK without any time limit on their stay ...

in 2000.

Arrest

Omar was one of four men arrested on Wednesday 27 July 2005 at 0430 BST, in a property on Heybarnes Road, in the

Small Heath Small Heath is an area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre. History Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman times, sits on top of a small hill. ...

area of

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. He was then taken to London's

Paddington Green police station Paddington Green Police Station was a Metropolitan Police Service station located in Paddington, Central London, England, and closed in 2018. History Building work on the station was completed in 1971. As well as providing local services, th ...

for questioning.BBC News UK – Tube bomb suspect held by police
/ref> Police used a 'Taser' stun gun to detain him. This was criticised as an incredible risk by

Metropolitan Police Commissioner The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service. Sir Mark Rowley was appointed to the post on 8 July 2022 after Dame Cressida Dick announced her resignation in February. The rank of Commission ...

Ian Blair, saying "If there is a bomb on that body, then the bomb is going to go off". This risk was played down by

West Midlands Police West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. The force covers an area of with 2.93million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, ...

, who said Sir Ian Blair did not know the full circumstances surrounding the arrest, but they still voluntarily referred the matter to the

Independent Police Complaints Commission The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) was a non-departmental public body in England and Wales responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wales. On 8 January 2018, th ...

.BBC News UK – Police play down Taser blast risk
/ref>

Charges

On 6 August 2005 he was charged with four criminal charges: *On or before 21 July,

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agr ...

with others unknown to murder passengers on the London transport system. *On 21 July,

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven y ...

of passengers on the London transport system. *On or before 21 July, conspiracy with others unknown to cause explosions likely to endanger life or cause serious damage to property. *On 21 July, unlawful and malicious possession of explosives with the intent of endangering life or causing serious damage to property.

Trial

On 28 April 2006, Omar, along with his co-accused pleaded not guilty to all charges against himBBC News UK – Five deny July bomb plot charges
/ref> and was placed on trial with 5 other suspects.BBC News 21 July Bombings Trial Portal
/ref> His

fiancée An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

, Fardosa Abdullah, was arrested on 4 October 2006. She was charged with assisting Omar in evading arrest and with failing to disclose information which could have led to Omar's arrest or conviction "as soon as reasonably practicable".BBC News UK – Woman in court over July 'plot'
/ref> She was subsequently jailed for three years. On 9 July 2007, Yasin Hassan Omar was found guilty 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' Court ...

of conspiracy to murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum of 40 years before being considered for release.

Appeal

In April 2008, the court of appeal judges dismissed a challenge by Ibrahim, Omar, Mohammed and Osman to their convictions. In December 2014, an appeal to the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...

lodged in 2008 by the bombers, claiming that their rights were breached in the 'safety interviews' after their arrests, was rejected.

References