London – Four men convicted of conspiracy to murder were sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for their part in failed suicide bombings on London’s public transit system in 2005. They must each serve a minimum of 40 years before being eligible for parole.
Woolwich crown court also announced that the remaining two defendants will face a retrial over the attempted bombings on July 21, 2005. No date has been set for the proceedings.
During sentencing, Judge Adrian Fulford linked the botched attacks to the London transit bombings two weeks earlier, which killed 52 people.
“What happened on July 7 in 2005 is of considerable relevance to this sentencing,” Fulford said in court. “I have no doubt that they were both part of an al-Qaeda-inspired and controlled sequence of attacks.”
The four defendants were self-confessed ringleader Muqtar Said Ibrahim, 29; Ramzi Mohammed, 25; Yassin Omar, 26; and Hussain Osman, 28.
Counterterrorism specialists dismissed the defendants’ claims that the bombings were a hoax to prompt the British government to reconsider its involvement in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
“They knew what would happen,” Sue Hemming, head of counterterrorism at the Crown Prosecution Service, said in a statement. “While the implementation of their plan was incompetent, their aim was clear. They wanted to kill and maim on a massive scale.”
Jurors were unable to reach a verdict Tuesday on Manfo Asiedu, 33, and Adel Yahya, 24, who allegedly played smaller roles in the conspiracy.
Responding to criticism that the government is unable to secure Britain’s borders, Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Wednesday promised to institute more anti-terrorism measures, such as more-technologically-advanced identity cards and stricter passport control.
