Accused bomber raised suspicion at Heathrow

17/01/2007 17:19

By Michael Holden

LONDON (Reuters) - One of six men on trial for plotting to bomb London in 2005 was stopped at Heathrow seven months earlier and asked about his Muslim beliefs and why he was flying to Pakistan, a police witness said on Wednesday.

Detective Constable Louis Chryssathis was a plain clothes special branch officer at Heathrow who stopped Muktah Said Ibrahim as he was leaving Britain for Pakistan in December 2004.

Chryssathis told Woolwich Crown Court that when asked about religion, Ibrahim "stated he was a Muslim by birth but not a regular worshipper. He stated he was not able to worship as often as he would like. He said he didn’t have enough time."

Chryssathis also said Ibrahim had shown a "sensitive streak" about Muslims being stopped and questioned for security reasons.

In separate evidence, Steven Bentley, a school friend of defendants Yassin Hassin Omar and Adel Yahya, described them as regular worshippers at London’s Finsbury Park mosque and followers of radical preacher Abu Hamza al-Masri, who was jailed last year for inciting murder of Jews and non-believers.

Bentley, 26, said the pair began to take a strong interest in religion from the age of about 18. Omar had taken to wearing traditional Muslim robes and headgear, and had spoken approvingly of the purist Afghan Islamic militia, the Taliban.

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Prosecutors accuse Ibrahim, Omar, Yahya and three other men of engaging in an "extremist Muslim plot" to carry out suicide bombings on London’s transport system on July 21, 2005, just two weeks after four young British Muslims blew themselves up, killing 52 people on three London underground trains and a bus.

WEDDING DETAILS

Police witness Chryssathis said that when Ibrahim was stopped at Heathrow with two friends, he said he was going to Pakistan to attend the wedding of one of them.

However, he did not know the name of the bride nor how the betrothal had come about, Chryssathis told the court.

Ibrahim was found to have more than 2,000 pounds on him and his baggage contained a first-aid kit, sleeping bag and warm outdoor clothing. He said he was unemployed, on benefit, but was working as a market trader.

He and his friends missed their flight but were allowed to continue on a later one to Pakistan, Chryssathis said.

Two other police witnesses confirmed earlier evidence to the court that five of the defendants were under police surveillance 14 months before the alleged bombing attempts.

PC Mark Stevens and Detective Constable Philip Marshall, said the men were observed and photographed for about four hours at a camp site at Bays Brown Farm in Cumbria in May 2004.

The jury was shown pictures of five of the suspects at the camp: Ibrahim, Omar, Yahya, Ramzi Mohammed and Hussein Osman. The court has not been told why they were under police surveillance at that time.

Together with a sixth man, Manfo Kwaku Asiedu, they all deny the charges of conspiracy to murder.

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