News / World
Five Britons Sentenced to Life for al Qaeda-Inspired Bombing Plots
Five British citizens were sentenced to life in prison for plotting to carry out wide-scale bombings across Britain.
Addressing the men after the sentence was read Judge Michael Astill said “The sentences are for life. Release is not a foregone conclusion. Some or all of you may never be released. You are considered cruel, ruthless misfits by society.”
Prosecutors argued that the five men had direct ties with al Qaeda and various cells linked to the terrorist organization. The five men were also believes to have had communication with the bombers who launched the 2005 attack on London’s transportation system that killed 52 people.
Two of the five men, Anthony Garcia and Omar Khyam, were found guilty of possessing an article for terrorism, a supply of fertilizer used to make explosives. Khyam had also been discovered to have had aluminum powder in his possession, another ingredient used in explosives.
The five men had been under surveillance for some time before police picked them up almost a year and a half prior to the London bombings. Police believed that the men had been planning to carry out attacks on a wide range of targets that included a nightclub and a shopping mall and trains.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, Head of the MPS Counter Terrorism Command and National Coordinator of Terrorism Investigations said most of the group had attended a terrorist training camp in Pakistan during 2003 and were fully trained to carry out an attack that would result in a heavy loss of life.
