London Bridge terror attack - 2 dead (not including attacker)

The 'Goodyear Direction' (2005) is at the root of this terrorist's early release. "At the time of his sentencing, the judge warned that he was a "serious jihadist" who should not be released while he remained a threat to the public."

"Terror gang who plotted to blow up London Stock Exchange could be free in six years
A terrorist gang involved in a plot to blow up the London Stock Exchange, the American Embassy and the home of Boris Johnson could be free in just six years.

By Mark Hughes, Tom Whitehead and Duncan Gardham

01 Feb 2012

The group of four Qaeda-inspired fundamentalists admitted planning to send mail bombs to their targets during the run up to Christmas 2010 and discussed launching a Mumbai-style attack on Parliament. But they could all be out after just six years after the two ringleaders of the group were given an indication of their sentences before deciding whether or not to plead guilty. Mohammed Chowdhury, described as the group’s “lynchpin”, and Shah Rahman, his accomplice, pleaded guilty following a so-called Goodyear hearing where the judge gave them an indication of their maximum sentences should they plead guilty.

The judge, Mr Justice Wilkie, told Chowdhury, 21, that he would be sentenced to no more than 13 and half years, while Rahman, 28, was told he would be given 12 and a half years if he admitted his involvement in the plot.

The two, along with fellow conspirators Gurukanth Desai, 30, and Abdul Miah, 25, admitted the charges of preparing for acts of terrorism after being made aware of the sentences they were likely to serve. It was part of a controversial 'Goodyear Direction' which allows defendants to judge whether they should plead guilty, depending on the sentence they are likely to face.
Had they been opted to go to trial instead and been found guilty by a jury, they would likely have been sentenced to approximately 20 years.

But now they could be out in fewer than six years. They will be released automatically at the half-way point in their sentence and spend the remainder on licence. They will also have a year deducted for time already spent on remand. Four of the al-Qaeda inspired men were preparing a Christmas bomb attack on the London Stock Exchange, the American embassy and the home of London Mayor Boris Johnson.

Two of the men conducted a surveillance trip around central London and also talked about launching a Mumbai-style attack on Parliament. A “target list” was found at the home of the ring-leader which listed the names and addresses of Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, as well as two Rabbis and the American Embassy. It had on it the letters ‘LXC’ for London Stock Exchange. Torn pieces of paper showed a sketch of what is believed to be a car bomb.

Three other men met with the plotters and planned to travel abroad to get more training before returning to launch further attacks. Another two men pleaded guilty to associated charges.The men, from London, Stoke and Cardiff, were inspired by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular (AQAP) and used their English-language magazine Inspire as a guide.In Stoke the gang talked about attacking local pubs and clubs but decided to travel abroad to get more training.
In East London, Mohammed Chowdhury, 21, the ring leader, and Shah Rahman, 29, were under surveillance as they toured central London sites for six hours between 3.30pm and 9.30pm on November 28 2010.

They got off a bus in Trafalgar Square and walked along Whitehall towards Westminster. They were observed looking at Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, Blackfriars Bridge and the Church of Scientology on Queen Victoria Street.


After visiting a McDonalds restaurant on Cannon Street in the City of London, the two men boarded a bus back towards East London. In the bedroom at Chowdhury’s flat in the Isle of Dogs, police found a handwritten target list on a folded piece of A4 paper on the computer desk.

The Stoke group have their origins in Pakistan, while the London and Cardiff groups were originally from Bangladesh. The three groups were inspired by Anwar al-Awlaki, one of the leaders of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular, who died in a drone attack last year.

The defendants made contact with each other through dawah – proselytising - or by Paltalk or other internet messaging. Meetings took place in November and December 2010 at which the defendants planned to use explosive devices to attack significant locations in London and around the country. Their plans could be carried out without much preparation and were very difficult to intercept, sources said. The London and Cardiff groups were keen to act quickly, at first talking about sending mail bombs through the Royal Mail and then deciding on a plan to set off bombs in the toilets of the stock exchange.

terror-bomb-5_2126035c.jpg
(Clockwise from top left) Mohammed Shahjahan, Omar Latif (centre), Nazam Hussain, Usman Khan and Mohibur Rahman (PA)

The Stoke group talked about persuading others to take bombs into pubs in their area so that they would explode.
Abdul Miah, 25, said to be at the centre of the Cardiff gang, and his brother Omar Latif, 28, pleaded guilty to taking part in the Stock Exchange plot. Gurukanth Desai, 30, pleaded guilty to attending meetings. Mohibur Rahman, 27, from Stoke pleaded guilty to possession of a document containing information useful to a person preparing an act of terrorism. The charges relate to two editions of al-Qaeda’s English language Inspire magazine.

Usman Khan, 20, Mohammed Shahjahan, 27, and Nazam Hussain, 26, all from Stoke pleaded guilty to preparing acts of terrorism.

At Khan’s home in Persia Walk, Stoke, police officers recovered a folded A4 sheet of paper which bore notes of the structure, roles and responsibilities of individuals in a terrorist cell. It included the headings ‘structure’, ‘responsibilities’, ‘communication’ and ‘local’ and appeared to be written by Shahjahan."


 
All these dick head no mark celebrities and sports stars who get MBE’s etc for just doing something they are good at (and getting paid fortunes).... the heroes that tackled this twat yesterday, without doubt stopping further harm and all without consideration for there own lives should get MBEs OBEs a nice cheque and free pints where ever they go.

actual real life super heroes
 
All these dick head no mark celebrities and sports stars who get MBE’s etc for just doing something they are good at (and getting paid fortunes).... the heroes that tackled this twat yesterday, without doubt stopping further harm and all without consideration for there own lives should get MBEs OBEs a nice cheque and free pints where ever they go.

actual real life super heroes

Free pints.

Top buzz.
 

The early release issue is getting politically complicated but the Guardian story doesn't follow up on the 2013 Court of Appeal judgement. "In 2012, Khan was sentenced to indeterminate detention for “public protection” with a minimum jail term of eight years after being convicted for his role in a plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange. The sentence would have allowed him to be kept in prison beyond the minimum term. However, the court of appeal quashed the sentence in 2013, replacing it with a 16-year-fixed term, of which Khan should serve half in prison." That decision looks very iffy in the light of the original sentencing judge's very specific warning about Khan in particular. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...t-london-bridge-terrorist-usman-khan-answered
 
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The early release issue is getting politically complicated but the Guardian story doesn't follow up on the 2013 Court of Appeal judgement. This looks very iffy. "In 2012, Khan was sentenced to indeterminate detention for “public protection” with a minimum jail term of eight years after being convicted for his role in a plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange. The sentence would have allowed him to be kept in prison beyond the minimum term. However, the court of appeal quashed the sentence in 2013, replacing it with a 16-year-fixed term, of which Khan should serve half in prison."
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...-over-early-release-of-london-bridge-attacker
Pretty unusual for the Court of Appeal to reduce a sentence. Well under 10% of such appeals, I reckon.
 
Pretty unusual for the Court of Appeal to reduce a sentence. Well under 10% of such appeals, I reckon.
According to this report in the Stoke Sentinel "Khan’s barrister, Joel Bennathan QC, insisted that Khan’s indefinite term, from which he may never be released, was simply too tough for one so young. He also claimed the crown court judge was ‘wrong to promote his offence to a high level of sophistication.’The court also ruled that the four men must abide by Counter Terrorism Act rules for 30 years. The men were among nine suspects arrested for their involvement in a terror ring in December 2010.The wider group – which included terrorists from London and Cardiff – was planning to bomb the London Stock Exchange.

They were inspired by Al-Qaeda propaganda and the ideology of Anwar Al Awlaki, the now dead Yemen-based extremist.The men met in Cardiff parks and used counter-surveillance measures in an effort to escape detection. But the security services were keeping tabs on them as they discussed plans to set up a military training camp in Pakistan, sending letter bombs, attacking pubs used by British racists, a Mumbai-style armed assault and bombing a high-profile target.Khan, Shahjahan and Hussain plotted al-Qaida-inspired bomb attacks on pubs and clubs in the Potteries.

They wanted to bring terror to their home city by placing homemade timed bombs in pub toilets.They also planned to send at least one of them to terror training camps in Pakistan. The Stoke-on-Trent defendants were recorded talking about attacking pubs in the city, although they had not selected specific targets by the time of their arrest.
They had also not constructed the bombs. Following Friday's attack, the Parole Board said Khan had been released automatically. A spokesman said: “We have every sympathy with those affected by the dreadful events that happened in London Bridge yesterday. “Given the seriousness of this attack, it is understandable that there is speculation about the attacker’s release from prison. “The Parole Board can confirm it had no involvement with the release of the individual identified as the attacker, who appears to have been released automatically on licence (as required by law), without ever being referred to the Board.”

I guess the CA judge might get the shakes if he's watched Hotel Mumbai.
 

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