Terror suspects face tough time
2005-07-30 18:33
London - The captured suspects in the bungled London bomb attacks were on Saturday facing at least two weeks of interrogation as police try to nail the network behind the bombers.
All four fugitives were behind bars, three in London and one in Rome, after a massive international manhunt culminated with dramatic raids in Britain and Italy on Friday.
Suspected Islamic extremists Yassin Hassan Omar, 24, Muktar Said Ibrahim, 27, and Ramzi Mohammed were being held at Britain's highest-security police station, Paddington Green.
A fourth suspect, Osman Hussain, 27, was arrested in Rome and was due to appear at an extradition hearing later on Saturday.
The four suspected bombers went on the run when their explosives failed to detonate fully on three London subway trains and a double-decker bus on July 21.
The attempt came two weeks after 56 people, including four suicide bombers, were killed in a similar string of attacks on the city's transport network.
The terror suspects face a fortnight of grilling in the Paddington Green basement, but police are pushing to extend the period terror suspects can be held without charge.
Time inside the central London station is "grim", a former soldier who spent three days inside told the Daily Mirror newspaper.
'It could break anyone'
Omar has been there since Wednesday and the Mirror source predicted a tough time in store for the suspect and others at the central London station.
"Omar will be locked in a bright, white, three metre by 3.7 metre cell with a steel toilet by the door and watched on closed circuit television," 42-year-old John said.
"The bed is a concrete slab with a plastic mattress; it doesn't matter, you can't sleep. There are strip lights on 24 hours and no natural light.
"You're completely cut off. Mentally it's really tough. It could break anyone.
"When you arrive, you're locked in a 15 foot by 10 foot cage like an animal."
Under Britain's Terrorism Act 2000, police can hold suspects for up to 48 hours without a judicial warrant.
After 14 days, suspects must either be released or a police file sent to the Crown Prosecution Service, where lawyers advise on the prospect of a successful conviction in the public interest.
Suspects must be allowed to sleep for eight hours in every 24 and provided with refreshments.
Louise Christian, who represented former Guantanamo Bay detainees, said police will rely on the "good cop, bad cop" routine.
"One starts off being nice and reasonable and tries to get them to chat. Then the other comes in later and by being quite rude and offensive tries to provoke and shock the suspect into speaking," she told The Independent newspaper.
- AFP