Five men who helped the would-be suicide bombers of 21st July 2005, including two with prior knowledge of the plot, were convicted today, Monday 4th February at Kingston Crown Court.
Siraj Yassin Abdullah ALI, Ismail ABDURAHMAN, Abdul Waxid SHERIF, Wahbi MOHAMED and Muhedin ALI were convicted of offences including assisting an offender and not disclosing information about acts of terrorism. All were close associates or relatives of the failed bombers, who were jailed for life last year for conspiring to murder passengers on the London transport system.
Before 21/7 Siraj Ali and Wahbi Mohammed knew there were plans to bomb London and failed to alert to the authorities. Together with Abdurahman, Sherif and Muhedin Ali they all actively helped the four bombers to evade capture after the failed attacks. This was despite a massive police hunt and appeal for information or assistance from the public and just two weeks after the deadly attacks of 7/7.
Siraj ALI was friends with two of the 21/7 bombers. He lived in the flat above Yassin Omar (the Warren Street bomber) at Curtis House, N11 and let Muktah Ibrahim (the No.26 bus bomber) live there with him. Handwritten notes relating to the construction of the bombs used on 21/7 were found in Ali’s flat and after the failed attacks he helped Ibrahim by clearing out the latter’s property from his own flat at no. 65.
Abdul Waxid SHERIF is the brother of Hussain Osman (the Shepherd’s Bush bomber). Following the failed attacks on 21/7 he helped his brother by providing him with his British passport, which Osman used to escape to Rome.
Wahbi MOHAMMED is the brother of Ramzi Mohammed (the Oval bomber). He was present at 14k Dalgarno Gardens, W10 on the morning of 21st July before the bombers prepared to set off to carry out the attacks. He took possession of a video camera – believed to have been used to make the bombers’ suicide videos at Dalgarno Gardens – and also took Ramzi Mohammed’s suicide letter intended for his family. After the attacks he helped Ramzi Mohammed by taking him food and other items as Ramzi remained in hiding with Ibrahim at Dalgarno Gardens.
Muhedin ALI was a friend of Hussein Osman, Ramzi Mohammed and Wahbi Mohammed. After the attacks he offered Osman a safe-house in London and following ALI’s arrest police discovered Ramzi Mohammed’s suicide note.
Ismail ABDURAHMAN provided Hussain Osman with a safe-house after the attacks. He allowed Osman to stay with him at his home at 61 Newport Street,
SE11 until Osman fled the country on 26th July 2005. He also acted as a runner for him, retrieving the video camera, believed to have been used to recorded the suicide videos; and Osman’s brother’s passport for him to use to escape to Italy, he also attempted to buy a Eurostar ticket for Osman the night before his departure for Rome.
Peter Clarke, Assistant Commissioner of MPS Specialist Operations said: “The bombers of 21st July 2005 wanted to repeat the carnage of 7/7 by killing and maiming passengers on the London transport system. It was only through luck that they failed. Two of the men jailed today knew about these plans yet, despicably, failed to alert the authorities.
“Even after the attacks they helped the bombers evade capture despite an appeal for assistance from the public. It must be remembered that July 2005 was a tense and worrying time for the people of London. Would-be suicide bombers were on the run just two weeks after 52 people were murdered by terrorists and so the fear of further attacks was very real. By helping the bombers escape immediate capture they contributed to the public’s fear of terrorism at that time.”
Siraj ALI, 33 years, unemployed lived at 65 Curtis House, Ladderswood Way London N11. Born in Eritrea, he was formerly part of the same foster family as Yassin Omar.
The evidence against him centred on items recovered from his flat. These included a notepad bearing calculations for a detonator and main charge of an improved explosive device, bearing the fingerprint of Ibrahim, and notes describing steps leading to martyrdom, a handwritten list of items including batteries, wires, bulbs and the words ‘detonator’ and ‘charge’ written in Arabic.
Also discovered was a PAK Cosmetics business card bearing Ibrahim’s fingerprints and a torn PAK Cosmetics business card bearing the fingerprint of Adel Yahya (convicted in connection with 21/7 plot). The majority of the hydrogen peroxide used to make both the main explosive charge and the detonators for the 21/7 bombs was purchased from PAK Cosmetics.
It was the Crown’s case that Ibrahim was familiar with 65 Curtis House and spent time there at a time when large quantities of peroxide were being concentrated on the cooker in Omar’s flat below (no. 58). The unpleasant fumes created by this process may well have encouraged Ibrahim, and others, to live in the upstairs flat with Ali during this period. Flat 65 was the obvious safe and clean alternative venue during the period that Flat 58 became a bomb factory.
ALI was arrested on 25/7/05 at Curtis House as police started searching Curtis House.
Abdul SHERIF, 30 years old, the brother of Hussain Osman, was born in Somalia. They lived close to each other in Stockwell with Sherif living at Morrell House.
After the attacks on 24th July phone records revealed that Sherif had made a number of lengthy calls to contacts, possibly relatives, in Italy to help make the arrangements for Osman’s travel to the country, which eventually took place on 26th July.
In the meantime he made arrangements for his British passport to be passed to Osman, via Abdurahman, which Osman used to flee the country.
Sherif was arrested on 01/08/2005.
Wahbi MOHAMMED, 25 years old, the brother of Ramzi Mohammed, was born in Somalia. He lived at 259 Tavistock Crescent London W10. Prior to 21/7 he was in regular contact with his brother, Osman and Ibrahim.
It was the Crown’s case that Mohammed knew what was to happen on 21/7 because he was with his brother and the other bombers at 14k Dalgarno Gardens, W10 on the morning of the attacks as the conspirators were in the final stages of their plans.
It is believed that the bombers recorded their suicide videos here overnight on 20th to 21st July using a video camera, which was entrusted to Wahbi to disseminate in the event of a successful attack. After the attacks Wahbi passed the video camera to Abdurahman who in turn passed it to Osman. The camera was recovered in Italy after Osman’s arrest, but the recordings have never been found. Wahbi also collected Ramzi Mohammed’s suicide note, which was to be delivered to Ramzi’s family, via Muhedin Ali.
After the attacks Wahbi delivered food to Ramzi and Ibrahim as they were in hiding at Dalgarno Gardens and provided Ramzi with a new mobile phone and SIM card in a bid to avoid detection by the authorities.
Wahbi was arrested 29/7/05.
Muhedin ALI, 29 years old, was born in Ethiopia. He lived at 11D Chesterton Road, W10, close to Dalgarno Gardens. He was an associate of Ramzi and Wahbi Mohammed and Osman.
After the attacks on 21st July 2005 Muhedin Ali contacted Hussain Osman and made numerous attempts by phone to contact Ramzi Mohamed.
When police searched 11d Chesterton Road after Ali’s arrest on 17th January
2006 they found Ramzi Mohammed’s suicide note, which had been passed from Ramzi to Wahbi Mohammed, then on to Muhedin Ali for delivery to Ramzi Mohamed’s family after the attacks.
Ismail ABDURAHMAN, 25 years old lived at 61 Newport Street London SE11. He was born in Somalia and worked as an administrative assistant at a firm of solicitors in Streatham. He knew Osman and Wahbi Mohammed.
On 23/7/05 he met Osman at Clapham Junction train station, following Osman’s arrival from Brighton. Osman had fled to Brighton shortly after the failed attacks. Abdurahman escorted him back to his home at Newport Street. He provided him with food, clothing and accommodation between 23rd-26th July and acted as a messenger for him, retrieving the video camera from Wahbi Mohammed and Abdul Sherif’s (Osman’s brother) passport for Osman to use to flee to Italy via Eurostar. The day before Osman fled the country, Abdurahman went to Waterloo station to make enquiries about Eurostar on Osman’s behalf.
