Last 21/7 bomb suspect in court

2005-09-23 20:02

London - Hussain Osman, the last of the key suspects in a failed attempt to repeat the July 7 bombings in London, was remanded on Friday, a day after his extradition from Italy.

Meanwhile, a British Muslim convert was jailed for 15 years on two charges of possessing articles for use in terrorism and police at Manchester Airport in northern England used a stun-gun on a man "acting suspiciously" on the tarmac.

Osman, 27, also known as Hamdi Issac, was read seven charges at Belmarsh Prison in southeast London, including attempted murder, relating to the July 21 incident.

Judge Timothy Workman remanded Osman - who entered no plea - until December 8 when he will appear at the Old Bailey criminal court in central London with his alleged co-conspirators.

"I'm sending your case to the central criminal court," the judge said.

"The first hearing that will take place there is on December 8 and I am remanding you in custody until then."

Flanked by guards in court

Osman, a Briton of Ethiopian origin, was arrested in Rome on July 29 after fleeing Britain. He was brought back on a special flight to a military airport on Thursday.

Fifty-six people were killed on July 7, including four apparent Islamist suicide bombers, when three London subway trains and a double-decker bus were bombed.

Osman made his debut in court flanked by guards. He confirmed his identity, and date of birth, then said he had no address.

He is charged with attempting to murder passengers on the London underground; conspiring with others to murder passengers on the underground; and conspiring with others to cause an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property. He is also accused of explosives offences.

The two-month extradition process from Italy was seen as a test case for a new pan-European arrest warrant, brought in to speed up extradition in the wake of the September 11 2001 attacks in the United States.

Osman wanted to be tried in Italy, where he was charged in connection with "international terrorism" and holding false identity papers after his July 29 arrest at a Rome apartment rented by his brother.

His alleged co-conspirators were charged in August and remanded.

At the Old Bailey criminal court in central London, Andrew Rowe, 34, was found guilty of having a book with notes on how to fire a mortar bomb, plus details of a secret communication code.

Hit with a stun gun

He was jailed for 7½ years on each charge.

Judge Adrian Fulford said the convert had been on the point of committing a terrorist outrage when he was stopped.

Earlier at Manchester airport, an unidentified suspect was arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 after a struggle with officers who used an electronic stun gun in a section of the airport where aircraft are parked.

The scare caused disruption to flights at Britain's third-biggest airport and raised jitters about terrorism.

- AFP