Assad Sarwar

A jury at Woolwich Crown Court in London, England, convicts the three alleged ringleaders of a plot to blow up transatlantic airliners (see August 10, 2006). However, some of their alleged accomplices are acquitted on some or all charges. The three men, Abdulla Ahmed Ali, Tanvir Hussain, and Assad Sarwar, are convicted of plotting to kill thousands of people by blowing up planes flying from London to the US with home-made liquid bombs disguised as drinks. This is the second trial on the case. At a previous trial, the three main defendants were found guilty of conspiracy to murder, but the jury was unable to decide whether the plans included detonating the bombs on the planes. One of the accomplices, Umar Islam, is convicted of conspiracy to murder, but the jury fails to reach a verdict on whether he was involved in the plot to blow up aircraft. Three others, Ibrahim Savant, Arafat Khan, and Waheed Zaman, are found not guilty of plotting to bomb aircraft, and the jury fails to reach a verdict on more general conspiracy to murder charges against them. It is unclear whether prosecutors will request another trial for these charges. An eighth man, Donald Stewart-Whyte, is cleared of all charges, and his lawyers call for an inquiry into why he was prosecuted. [BBC, 9/7/2009]