Reuters : Chronology of major terrorism trials in Britain

Chronology of major terrorism trials in Britain

Reuters | July 9, 2007

Four men were convicted on Monday of plotting failed attacks on London's transport system in July 2005, designed to replicate Islamist suicide bombings two weeks earlier that killed 52 people.

Here is a chronology of recent verdicts in British terrorism trials.

March 2003 - Jamaican-born Sheikh Abdullah el-Faisal, a supporter of al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, was sentenced to nine years in jail for incitement to murder by urging his followers to kill non-believers in a so-called holy war.

April 2003 - Two Algerians, Baghdad Meziane and Brahim Benmerzouga, were jailed for 11 years after being found guilty of raising cash for terrorism, making them the first people with suspected al Qaeda links to be imprisoned in Britain.

April 2005 - Kamel Bourgass, aka Nadir Habra, an al Qaeda-trained Algerian, was convicted of a plot to launch chemical and bomb attacks, after a global investigation across 17 countries. Bourgass was also found guilty in 2004 of the murder of detective Stephen Oake after his flat was raided in Manchester. The raid, police said, was linked to the discovery of ricin in London. Bourgass was sentenced to 22 years for the murder.

April 2005 - Briton, Saajid Badat, who admitted to conspiring with "shoebomber" Richard Reid to blow up airliners over the Atlantic - but had a change of heart before boarding his flight - was jailed for 13 years.

September 2005 - Andrew Rowe, a British Muslim convert, was found guilty of terrorist offences and sentenced to 15 years jail for possessing secret codes and a hand-written weapons handbook. British anti-terrorism officials described him as an "international warrior".

November 2006 - Dhiren Barot, a senior al Qaeda operative, who admitted a plot to blow up the New York Stock Exchange and carry out attacks in Britain with gas-filled limousines and a "dirty bomb", was jailed for a minimum of 30 years. April 2007 - Five Britons -- Omar Khyam, Anthony Garcia, Jawad Akbar, Waheed Mahmood and Salahuddin Amin -- were jailed for life for plotting al Qaeda-inspired bomb attacks on targets across Britain ranging from nightclubs to trains and a shopping centre.

June 2007 - Seven Britons linked to a plot to blow up U.S. financial institutions, including the New York Stock Exchange, and stage a series of attacks in Britain were jailed for a total of 136 years. Prosecutors said the men were part of a group headed by Dhiren Barot. The men were Mohammed Naveed Bhatti, Junade Feroze, Zia Ul Haq, Abdul Aziz Jalil, Nadeem Tarmohamed and Omar Abdur Rehman and Qaisar Shaffi.

July 2007 - Moroccan-born Younes Tsouli, Briton Waseem Mughal and Jordanian-born Tariq al-Daour were sentenced to a total of 24 years in prison for inciting terrorism over the Internet in the first case of its kind in Britain.

July 2007 - A court sentenced Omar Altimimi to nine years jail for possessing al Qaeda computer material, including documents suggesting hitting nightclubs and airports. Police described him as a failed asylum seeker living in northern England and a terrorist "sleeper".

July 2007 - Muktah Said Ibrahim, Yassin Hassin Omar, Ramzi Mohammed and Hussein Osman found guilty of conspiracy to murder in plotting an attack on London's transport system in July 2005 using bombs carried in rucksacks.

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