Explosions admission at 'transatlantic terror plot' trial
Monday, 14 Jul 2008 13:08
All eight defendants deny two charge of conspiracy to murder
Three of eight men accused of plotting to blow up transatlantic flights two years ago have pleaded guilty to conspiring to cause explosions.
Jurors at the trial at Woolwich crown court were told today of the pleas from Abdullah Ahmed Ali, 27; Assad Sarwar, 28; and Tanvir Hussain, 27.
The three men were joined by two other of their fellow defendants – Ibrahim Savant, 27, and Umar Islam, 30, in admitting a charge of conspiring to cause a pubic nuisance in videos seen by the court where they threaten to carry out suicide bomb attacks.
Mr Ahmed Ali, Mr Sarwar and Mr Hussain say they only planned to create a harmless explosion at the Houses of Parliament to publicise their documentary on injustices against Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon.
All five men and the three remaining suspects - Mohammed Gulzar, 26; Arafat Waheed Khan; and Waheed Zaman, 23 – deny two charges of conspiracy to murder between January 1st and August 11th 2006.
They are accused of planning to detonate homemade liquid explosives on flights bound for the US from Heathrow.
Jurors are expected to be discharged next week to consider verdicts on the two murder counts.