BRITAIN:A JURY trying three men accused of helping the July 7th London bombers was dismissed yesterday after failing to reach a verdict following nearly three weeks of deliberations.
Waheed Ali (25), Sadeer Saleem (28) and Mohammed Shakil (32) - the first and only people to be tried in connection with the explosions on London's transport network that killed 52 people in 2005 - are likely to face a retrial over the allegation that they undertook a "hostile reconnaissance mission" in the capital to explore potential targets seven months earlier.
It is claimed they were joined by the eventual suicide bombers, Hasib Hussain and Jermaine Lindsay, on the two-day trip in December 2004, during which they went to the London Eye, the Natural History Museum and the London Aquarium, and, the prosecution claimed, visited areas which bore a "striking similarity" to those where the bombs would be detonated the next year.
Mohammed Sidique Khan, Shehzad Tanweer, Hussain and Lindsay injured nearly a thousand people when they exploded devices they carried in rucksacks on to three underground trains and a bus near King's Cross, north London.
It was alleged during the three-month trial that the defendants' trip was "an essential preparatory step in the plan to bring death and destruction to the heart of the UK". But the trio, who admitted they knew the bombers from attending the same mosques and gyms as they grew up in the tight-knit Asian community of Beeston, Leeds, insisted their outing was an innocent "social outing" planned so Ali could visit his sister and offering the others the opportunity for some sightseeing.
The jury at Kingston crown court, southwest London, were in their 15th day of deliberations when they sent a note to the judge saying they were deadlocked. Mr Justice Gross had told them on Monday that he would accept a majority verdict.
The men, who deny conspiracy to cause explosions, were remanded in custody. Paul Taylor, prosecuting, said that the crown would take "a little time" to consider if it would seek a retrial. The judge set a provisional date for a directions hearing on September 26th or 29th.
During the trial the defendants, who admitted undertaking jihadi training in Pakistan, made no secret of their support for the defence of Muslim lands. But they denounced suicide bombings as unIslamic and denied any knowledge of the 7/7 plot.
- (Guardian service)