First accused in British plots produced in court

London, July 7: Iraqi-trained doctor, Bilal Abdulla, has become the first person to appear in a London court charged in connection with the suspected car bomb plots in London and Glasgow.

The 27-year-old is accused of conspiring to cause explosions and was remanded in custody when he appeared at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London, this morning.

He was arrested after a flaming Jeep was driven into Glasgow Airport a week ago. Bilal is accused of conspiracy.

Abdullah, who wore a white sweatshirt and was flanked by two plain-clothed security officers, spoke only to give his name and to confirm his date of birth.

The court clerk told him, ''The charge against you is that between January 1 and July 1 this year within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court, you unlawfully and maliciously conspired with others to cause explosions of a nature likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property in the United Kingdom.'' Abdullah stood in the dock while the charge was read out to him but had earlier failed to stand when District Judge Anthony Evans entered the room.

Prosecuter Karen Jones told the court that the charge was related to suspected bomb attacks in London and Glasgow on June 29 and June 30.

No bail was applied for Abdullah and he was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on July 27.

Abdullah was charged last night with conspiring to cause explosions, Scotland Yard said. He was being charged under 1883 Explosive Substances Act, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

It carries a maximum sentence of life.

Six other people are being held in the UK after the failed bombings in the two cities. Two are trainee doctors, aged 25 and 28, who were arrested at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley.

Another is a man arrested at Glasgow Airport who is being treated for burns. He is reportedly Kafeel Ahmed, brother of Sabeel Ahmed.

The others being detained include Dr Mohammed Asha, 26, of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, who was arrested with his wife, Marwa Asha, on the M6 motorway near Sandbach in Cheshire last Saturday.

The same day a 26-year-old doctor from Bangalore Sabeel Ahmed, who worked at Halton Hospital in Runcorn, Cheshire, was arrested in the Lime Street area of Liverpool.

Another doctor named Mohammed Haneef, 27, who once worked at the Halton Hospital in Runcorn, was arrested in Australia.

UNI

Related Stories