Posted on 07/26/2005 6:07:58 PM PDT by blam
Terror suspect is a convicted mugger
By Duncan Gardham and Philip Johnston
(Filed: 27/07/2005)
One of the four suspects in the attempted suicide bombings in London last week spent several years in prison as a mugger, the Telegraph can reveal.
Despite his record, Muktar Said Ibrahim, 27, also known as Muktar Mohammed Said, was granted a British passport less than a year ago. A key condition of naturalisation is that an applicant must be ''of good character''.
Muktar Said Ibrahim
Ibrahim detonated a bomb in a rucksack on a No 26 bus in Hackney Road, east London, last Thursday but it failed to explode. He was still on the run last night with other terrorists whose devices failed to go off on the Underground.
It emerged that his family went to the police to identify him after his photograph was issued on Friday.
The Home Office said that Ibrahim arrived with his family as an asylum seeker from Eritrea and was granted exceptional leave to remain in 1992 as a dependant aged 14. But a close friend said that the family lived in Saudi Arabia after leaving Eritrea and that Ibrahim made a return visit recently.
He attended Canons High School, a comprehensive in Edgware, north London, until he was 16. A year after leaving he was arrested with four other youths in Royston, Herts, after a street robbery. Members of the gang, who are understood to have included a man arrested in connection with the bomb inquiries, were jailed for terms ranging from two to four years at Luton Crown Court in 1996 after admitting five robberies in the Welwyn Garden City and Stevenage areas.
Ibrahim received five years because he had been carrying a knife. He served his time in several young offenders institutions.
After his release, he was said to have attended Finsbury Park and Brixton mosques in London, both of which have been associated with radicals.
He applied for naturalisation in November 2003 and was issued with a full passport last September. All new citizens are required to show that they have no criminal past and questions will be asked about how his record did not come to light.
He would have taken a pledge: "I will give my loyalty to the United Kingdom and respect its rights and freedoms. I will uphold its democratic values. I will observe its laws faithfully and fulfil my duties and obligations as a British citizen."
Yet within 10 months of being naturalised, Ibrahim was involved in a bomb plot aimed at the heart of the nation. One suggestion was that he may have applied for a British passport to help him move in and out of the country more easily.
Sarah Scott with the pamphlet, and a passage from it, given to her by Ibrahim
The other named suspect, Yassin Hassan Omar, who tried to explode his bomb on a Victoria Line train between Oxford Circus and Warren Street, is a Somali national.
He arrived in Britain in 1992 at the age of 11, having been granted exceptional leave to enter.
In May 2000 he was granted indefinite leave to remain and for five years he claimed housing benefit estimated at £24,000 to rent a north London tower block flat where police believe the bombs may have been made. He also received income support.
The Home Office said that both men had been ''legally resident in the United Kingdom for more than 10 years''. As with the July 7 suicide bombers, who killed more than 50 people, they grew up and went to school in this country.
Ibrahim's family, who live in Stanmore, north-west London, said in a statement released through the police: "We are a peaceful family, having lived in this country since 1990.
"We were shocked when we saw Muktar's picture in the national news. We immediately attended the police station and made statements."
They said that Ibrahim had left home in 1994 and added: "He is not a close family member. He has not visited here for many months. The family wish to express their shock regarding recent events and in no way condone any acts of terrorism."
Sarah Scott, 23, a neighbour of the family, said that Ibrahim had given her a pamphlet, Understanding Islam, last November and had highlighted key passages.
"He talked about evil spirits,'' she said. ''He said there were a lot of evil spirits around because everyone was evil around here.''
Only following the example of Muhammad.
Skunks never smell their own stench.
The claim of Muslims to be pious and offended by "western decadance" are hypocrites and pretenders. Europe needs to be letting those people in their countries.
Stupid press... Detonate MEANS Explode. They can't have it both ways, it either exploded or didn't explode.
Just a low-life crook. Looking for an outlet. He found the herd of low-life crooks into which he fits.
"He talked about evil spirits,'' she said. ''He said there were a lot of evil spirits around because everyone was evil around here.''
Well, someone is evil. . .
What in the world was he doing talking to a girl? He's going to hell for sure for that.
The Bleedin'Obvious, Alex, for $1,000.
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