Tower Bridge 9/11 plotter jailed (The Guardian)

[Up2Late]

(So why did we never hear about THIS 9/11 plot?)

Tower Bridge 9/11 plotter jailed

Randeep Ramesh and Sanjay Jha in Mumbai
Saturday July 23, 2005
The Guardian

A district court in India has sentenced a man to seven years in jail for planning to crash airliners into the House of Commons and Tower Bridge in London on September 11 2001.

Judges in Mumbai handed down the sentence to Muhammad Afroze, who had also confessed in police interrogation to plotting with a group of al-Qaida operatives to attack Melbourne's Rialto Towers and the Indian parliament in 2001. Afroze was arrested under controversial anti-terrorist laws in India after the 9/11 attacks. Human rights groups claim the laws are unfair and discriminatory.

Afroze was arrested at a Mumbai city hotel in October 2001 in possession of pilot training documents from Britain and Australia. He was charged under India's Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota).

Police say Afroze confessed to fleeing from Britain to India four years ago and that he and other al-Qaida operatives plotted to hijack passenger jets from Heathrow and fly them into the London landmarks.

<http://www.guardian.co.uk/india/story/0,12559,1534709,00.html?gusrc=rss>
(more at link above)

[booksenkatz]

1. .

kick

[Up2Late]

2. It's amazing to be that nobody has any comments on how odd...

...this is that this (9/11 Al-Quata plot in India) has gone completely unreported.

[booksenkatz]

3. Kicking it once more for U2L

I wish I were better educated on this subject and could offer commentary, because this fascinates me. Was hoping for commentary from those who know more than I.:(

(Of course, when has lack of knowledge ever stopped anyone from commenting??)

[Henny Penny]

4. I'm always a bit concerned when people are convicted

on the basis of a confession obtained during interrogation...

OK I can see the point of attacking the Houses of Parliament... but Tower Bridge????

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. It's a damn weird story

Tower Bridge, I suppose, for its landmark value - maybe he spent too much time watching films where they have an opening shot of the Houses of Parliament, or Tower Bridge, to establish the location is London. Either that, or he owned a souvenir London tea towel ;-)

What the Guardian story doesn't say is that, although he was arrested under India's Prevention of Terrorism Act, he was released for lack of evidence. He was re-arrested under a different law; he received 5 years for the conspiracy to commit terrorism, but seven years for using forged documents (to get into flight school). See http://us.rediff.com/news/2005/jul/22afr.htm

And in October 2004, he stood as a candidate for a regional assembly, while out on bail, I think.

[Henny Penny]

6. curiouser and curiouser...

[Up2Late]

7. The guy seems like someone a few beers short of a 12 pack

Lucky he's not from Texas, he'd be on Death Row already.:crazy: