Would-be London bombers launch appeal bid

LONDON – Four men jailed for life for trying to bomb London’s transport system in 2005 have launched an appeal, saying their bomb plot was a hoax designed to send a political statement about the war in Iraq. The four were convicted last year of a plan to replicate the London suicide bombings of July 7, which had killed 52 commuters just two weeks earlier. They are serving at least 40 years in jail for trying to detonate hydrogen peroxide-based bombs on three underground trains and at a bus station.

Although the detonators on their makeshift bombs fired, the main charges failed to explode and no one was killed.

Muktah Said Ibrahim, Yassin Hassan Omar, Ramzi Mohammed and Hussain Osman were found guilty of conspiracy to murder after a trial lasting almost six months. They are appealing against their conviction.

A fifth man, Manfo Kwaku Asiedu, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cause explosions on the eve of his retrial in November after the original jury failed to reach a verdict. He is seeking to appeal against his 33-year sentence. The group appeared via video link at London’s Appeal Court on Wednesday.

George Carter-Stephenson, for Ibrahim, told the court the failed bombings were designed to send a political message. “The applicant’s case is that the events of July 21 were an elaborate hoax designed to protest against and draw attention to Britain’s role in the attack on Iraq,” he said.