Tuesday, February 26, 2008

'Osama bin London' Found Guilty


When you give yourself a nickname like this, you get what you have coming.

Of course, running terrorist training camps and encouraging murder don't help, either.
A Muslim fanatic who boasted of being "Osama bin London" has been found guilty of organising terrorist training camps.

Mohammed Hamid, 50, was also convicted of encouraging others to murder non-believers at the end of a four-month trial at Woolwich Crown Court.

Three of his followers, Kibley da Costa, 25, Mohammed Al-Figari, 45, and Kader Ahmed, 20, were found guilty of attending terror camps in the New Forest and at a Berkshire paintballing centre.

Two further members of the gang, Mohammed Kyriacou, 19, and Yassin Mutegombwa, 23, admitted attending terrorist training camps, it can be reported today after restrictions were lifted.

Property manager Mousa Brown, 41, was cleared of providing and receiving weapons training and has been freed from custody.

The court heard Hamid led an al Qaida-style terrorist cell and aspired to send his recruits to join camps in Afghanistan and East Africa.

Among his pupils were five of the July 21 failed bombers, including ringleader Muktar Said Ibrahim, who attended Lake District camps in 2004.

Detectives said although there is no evidence Hamid organised the attacks, he was partly responsible for the state of mind of those that did.

He boasted that the July 7 attacks were "not even breakfast for me" and hours afterwards sent a text message to his friend, July 21 conspirator Hussain Osman.

It read: "We fear no-one except Allah. We will not change our ways, we are proud to be Muslim and we will not hide."

Hamid organised outdoor activities including camping and paintballing at sites in the Lake District, New Forest, Berkshire, Kent and East Sussex.

The jury found three of these trips were terrorist training designed to recruit, groom and corrupt impressionable young Muslims.

They were combined with incendiary weekly talks at his east London council home where he sowed the seeds of hate among his followers.

He was joined in his teachings by Atilla Ahmet, 43, the self-styled emir of the gang, who admitted three charges of soliciting murder at the start of the trial.
More from the BBC.

Here's a look at some of his cohorts. Looks like a braod strata.


Clockwise from top-left: Atilla Ahmet, 43: Guilty of soliciting to murder
Kibley Da Costa, 24: Guilty of attending terrorism training, providing training, holding terrorist articles
Kader Ahmed, 20: guilty of attending two training camps. Cleared on third charge
Mohammed Al-Figari, 42: Guilty of attending camps and holding terrorist articles

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