Life sentences for 'wicked' bombers who planned air terror campaign

Published on Monday 14 September 2009 13:37

AIRLINER bomb plot ringleader Abdulla Ahmed Ali was jailed for life with a minimum of 40 years today for planning what judge Mr Justice Henriques said was an atrocity comparable with the September 11 attacks.

British-born extremist Ali, the leader of an al Qaida-inspired terror cell, planned to detonate home-made liquid bombs on board flights bound for major North American cities, Woolwich Crown Court heard.

Ali, of Walthamstow, east London, was found guilty along with Assad Sarwar and Tanvir Hussain of conspiracy to murder on a mass scale by detonating bombs on airliners following the largest-ever counter-terrorism operation in the UK.

Trial judge Mr Justice Henriques said the gang was planning a "grave" terrorist atrocity which would have been comparable to the September 11 attacks.

He said they would have succeeded without the intervention of the police and security services.

Mr Justice Henriques said the trio were convicted of "the most grave and wicked conspiracy ever proven within this jurisdiction".

He said: "The intention was to perpetrate a terrorist outrage that would stand alongside the events of September 11, 2001 in history."

The judge added that the airline bomb plot had "reached an advanced stage in its development".

He said the men had "sufficient chemicals for 20 home-made detonators of commercial strength".

"I'm satisfied that there is every likelihood that this plot would have succeeded but for the intervention of the police and the security service," he said.

Referring to a video of a mock explosion on board an airliner, Mr Justice Henriques said: "I could only conclude the chance of an aircraft surviving such an explosion at altitude was remote.

"Had this conspiracy not been interrupted, a massive loss of life would almost certainly have resulted – and if the detonation was over land, the number of victims would have been even greater still."

The judge said the emails at the centre of the retrial – which were unavailable to prosecutors in the first trial last year – "are a vital source of information as to the control, progress and scope of this conspiracy".

"They establish beyond question the ultimate control of this conspiracy lay in Pakistan."

He said others in Pakistan controlled, monitored and funded the airliner bomb plot.

Ali, Sarwar and Hussain were "high-level executives within this

country", the judge added.

Mr Justice Henriques told Ali: "I have concluded you are a driven and determined extremist with boundless energy and an ambition to lead a terrorist outrage of boundless proportion.

"By this conspiracy you sought the attention of the world, and you now have it."

The judge went on: "Not only did you recruit, but you also obtained much of the bomb-making equipment."

He said Ali was "producer, director, cameraman, part-author and actor in the six martyrdom tapes" which warned the British public to expect "floods of martyr operations" that would leave body parts scattered in the streets.

"You made it as clear as can be that innocent people were going to die – men, women and children," the judge said.

He went on: "You have embraced Islamic extremism and it is that burning extremism that has motivated you throughout this conspiracy and is likely to drive you again."

Mr Justice Henriques said that, from watching Ali give evidence, it was clear he was "intelligent" as he "argued the unarguable over many days with senior Treasury counsel" and "sought to justify the mass killing" in videos.

"This was a viable and meticulously planned conspiracy and I conclude it was imminent," the judge said.

He said the plot was not an attempt by Ali to change the Government's foreign policy, but "an act of revenge inspired by extremist Islamic thinking" and aimed at the "governments of several allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan".

"The extent of harm would have been unprecedented," he said.

He added that grave economic consequences should follow.

Mr Justice Henriques also said the plot caused "massive expenditure" and "huge inconvenience for the travelling public" as extra security measures were brought in to airports.

"Tons of liquids are confiscated from the public on a daily basis at airports," the judge said.

The tighter security measures, and the restrictions on liquids on

flights, was "entirely attributable to this conspiracy".

The judge jailed Assad Sarwar for life with a minimum of 36 years.

Tanvir Hussain was also jailed for life with a minimum of 32 years.

The trio will each be credited with the 1,132 days which they have already served behind bars.

None of them was given any further penalty for the charges of conspiracy to cause explosions or conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.

The jury of nine women and three men failed to reach a verdict on a fourth man, Umar Islam, in connection with the airliner plot last week.

Prosecutors are not seeking a retrial and the charge will be left to lie on file.

But Islam, 31, of Bushey Road, Plaistow, was convicted of conspiracy to murder and was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 22 years today.

The judge told Sarwar he was a "vital and leading member of this conspiracy", who had trained in Pakistan and acted as the "chemist and quartermaster" for the operation.

"I have no doubt that your involvement was attributable to embracing Islamic extremism," he said.

"This was a viable device and that in all likelihood a number of planes would have been brought down. This plot was close to fruition."

The judge told Hussain his role was "substantial, albeit inferior to both Ali and Sarwar" and that his involvement was "entirely attributable to long-term loyalty to Ali".

The judge also praised the work of the jurors, saying: "You have by any standards been an exceptional jury."

He said they had had to contend with problems caused by swine flu and a criminal attack on a relative unrelated to the trial.

He excused them from serving on a jury for 10 years and said jury service was "the most important public duty, that is in peace time".