British bomb plot results in four life sentences

LONDON — A British judge sentenced four al-Qaida-inspired bomb plotters to life in prison Wednesday for their "very nearly successful attempt at mass murder" on London's transit system in 2005, two weeks after suicide bombers killed 52 commuters.

Muktar Said Ibrahim, 29; Yassin Omar, 26; Ramzi Mohammed, 25; and Hussain Osman, 28, must spend at least 40 years in jail before becoming eligible for parole, Judge Adrian Fulford said.

A jury Monday convicted the men of conspiracy to murder for trying to detonate explosives-filled knapsacks on three subway trains and a bus.

Two other suspects, Manfo Kwaku Asiedu, 34, and Adel Yahya, 24, will be retried. The jury failed to reach a verdict on the charges against them.

No one was injured in the failed bombings July 21, 2005. Prosecutors said that although the planning started long before, the July 21 attempt was a deliberate echo of the July 7 attack in which four suicide bombers killed 52 people in London. Police suspect, but could not prove, a link between the two groups.

Fulford said the events of July 7 meant the July 21 plotters knew how deadly their bombs could be.

All six defendants denied the charges, saying the bombs were meant to be duds and their actions a protest against the Iraq war. But police and prosecutors said scientific tests proved the bombs were all viable. They do not know why they did not work.

Unlike three of the four July 7 bombers, who were British-born, the July 21 plotters came to Britain as youths from countries in the Horn of Africa. Some are British citizens, while others have refugee status.

Man gets 21 months for lying under oath

CHICAGO — A Chicago medical-van driver accused of funneling money to Mideast terrorists was sentenced Wednesday to 21 months in federal prison for lying in a civil lawsuit.

Muhammad Salah, 54, also was ordered to pay a $25,000 fine and do 100 hours of community service.

"Telling the truth is the bedrock of our judicial system, and a slap on the wrist will not provide a deterrent," U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve said in sentencing Salah. He has until Oct. 11 to begin his sentence.

Salah was convicted in February of lying under oath in a civil lawsuit concerning the murder in Israel of a teenager by Hamas terrorists.

The indictment against Salah was originally announced at a news conference with then-U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, who called it a major step in the war on terrorism. He said Salah and co-defendant Abdelhaleem Ashqar operated "a U.S.-based terrorist recruiting and financing cell."

But a jury Feb. 1 acquitted both of taking part in a racketeering conspiracy aimed at bankrolling Hamas.

The same jury, however, did convict Salah of a single count of obstruction of justice for lying under oath on a written questionnaire involving the death in Israel of American teenager David Boim.

The Boim family sued Salah and some Islamic charities, claiming they had funneled money to Hamas terrorists.

Ex-JFK cargo handler pleads not guilty

NEW YORK — Russell Defreitas, a former cargo handler at John F. Kennedy International Airport, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to orchestrating a terrorist plot to blow up the airport's jet-fuel supply.

Defreitas, 63, a Guyana native, Kareem Ibrahim, Abdul Kadir and Abdel Nur were indicted last month on five counts of conspiracy alleging they plotted to cause death and destruction at the airport.

Prosecutors say the plotters also sought the help of a violent Islamic group in Trinidad.

The alleged plan targeted a jet-fuel artery that runs through residential neighborhoods to the airport. Authorities have said the pipeline's design would have prevented the chain-reaction explosion the plotters envisioned.

Defreitas' attorney, Andrew Carter, said the defense is conducting its own investigation.

Also

Eight convicted: A Paris court Wednesday convicted eight people of supporting 12 suicide bombers who blew themselves up in 2003 in Morocco, killing 45 people. Most were linked to Noureddine Nafia, a member of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group; or GICM, a terrorist group believed to be linked to the Casablanca attacks. Nafia is serving a 20-year sentence in a Moroccan prison for the attacks.

Pair sentenced: Jordan's military court convicted and sentenced two militants Wednesday to prison for plotting to attack Americans living in the kingdom. Sameeh al-Hotari, 25, was sentenced to eight years. Mohammed Shehada, 25, was sentenced to three years. The two men allegedly decided to avenge Muslims "who suffer from the Americans" and planned to kill an American man who lived in a suburb of the Jordanian capital, Amman. The court did not identify the American.

Seattle Times news services