Osama bin London and British Terror Training Camps
by Adrian Morgan

On Tuesday February 26th, after a trial lasting more than four months, it was announced that five men were found guilty of partaking in terror training on UK soil. The leader of the group, Mohammed Hamid, called himself "Osama bin London." Before his arrest, Hamid had boasted to his followers that he had been organizing terror training camps in Britain for 13 years.

Hamid was found guilty by a jury at Woolwich Crown Court of three counts of "soliciting to murder" and three counts of providing terrorist training. He was found not guilty on two other counts of soliciting murder and not guilty of providing training in weaponry. He was also found not guilty of possessing a document containing information useful to a terrorist.

Four others were on trial with him. After 22 days of deliberation, a jury found three of these individuals – Kibley Da Costa, Muhammad al-Figari and Kader Ahmed – guilty of attending terror training camps in Britain. 41-year-old property developer Mousa Brown was found not guilty, and was freed from custody.

Reporting restrictions were lifted when the sentences were announced. It was then revealed that two of Osama bin London's followers, Muhammad Kyriacou, 19, and Yassin Mutegombwa, 23, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to attending the training camps at a separate hearing. Under Section 6 (1) of the Terrorism Act 2006, receiving training in terrorism is illegal. Kyriacou and Mutegombwa, who both came from south London, were both given a three year and five month jail sentence. Mutegombwa's 18-year-old brother Hassan was convicted at an earlier trial of seeking funds for terrorism training overseas while at one of the camps run by "Osama bin London," and was given a 10-year jail sentence.

45-year-old Muhammad al-Figari from Tottenham, northeast London, was found guilty of two counts of partaking in terrorist training camps and two counts of possession of a record containing information likely to be useful to a terrorist. He was found not guilty of a third count of containing such a record. Figari was born in Trinidad as Roger Michael Figari. He came to London in 1989. He worked as a chauffeur for the BBC, and later became a convicted drug smuggler. He also had convictions for theft and assault.

Somali- born Kader Ahmed of Plaistow, East London, had been found guilty on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 of two counts of attending terror training camps, and was cleared of another similar count. Kader Ahmed had been 17 when arrested. During the trial he said that an undercover officer who had infiltrated the group was "James Bond" and said he had invented his evidence.

24-year-old Kibley da Costa from West Norwood in south London was found guilty of providing terror training, guilty of two counts of attending terrorist training sessions and one count of having a document containing information useful to a terrorist. He was given a jail sentence of four years and eleven months. He had been born in Jamaica to a Christian family and had arrived in Britain in 1995. He had worked as a bus driver, though this employment ended after he ran over a drunken man, who later died.

The trial of Mohammed Hamid aka Osama bin London started on Monday October 10, 2007. On the same day, his accomplice Attila Ahmet had pleaded guilty to three counts of soliciting to murder. Ahmed, aka "Abu Abdullah" had been a close associate of Abu Hamza al-Masri, the firebrand preacher at Finsbury Park Mosque. When Hamza was arrested and placed in custody in 2004, Attila Ahmet had continued to preach at the Finsbury Park Mosque, and in the streets outside when the mosque trustees had prevented their access. He and his followers finally lost control of the mosque on February 8, 2005, when the trustees, accompanied by police, changed the locks on the doors.

Attila Ahmet, Muhammad Al-Figari, Yassin Mutegombwa and (now cleared) Moussa Brown were arrested in London raids that began on September 1, 2006.

Mohammed Hamid, Attila Ahmet, Mohammed al-Figari and Kader Ahmed will be given sentences at a later date. Attila Ahmet has other charges which are to remain on file.

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Pertinent Links:

1) Osama bin London and British Terror Training Camps