Felix the Cat
12-21-2005, 10:28 AM
Al-Qaida suspect jailed in Belfast (http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,12469,1671529,00.html)
An Algerian with suspected links to al-Qaida was today jailed for six years for downloading instructions on how to blow up an aircraft with a bomb.
The 27-year-old man, sentenced at Belfast crown court, was found guilty of possessing and collecting information connected with terrorism.
Authorities have admitted they are unsure exactly who he is. During his six-week trial, he appeared in court under the name Abbas Boutrab. He has used at least seven aliases since his first known arrest for stealing a bag in Paris 13 years ago.
Detectives in Northern Ireland, the British security services and the FBI along with police in the Irish Republic, France and Holland, were all involved in the intelligence operation that led to Boutrab's capture.
Police initially arrested him on suspicion of being an illegal immigrant. He was detained during a raid on his flat at Whiteabbey, on the northern outskirts of Belfast, in April 2003.
Officers then found 25 computer discs containing instructions downloaded from the internet in the city's central library three months earlier.
The files detailed how to construct a bomb and smuggle it on board a passenger jet, the trial heard. They also included information on how to make a silencer for an assault rifle using household items.
Boutrab - who protests his innocence and plans to appeal against his conviction - was also found guilty of possessing a stolen Italian passport.
Mr Justice Weatherup told him he would be recommending his deportation.
During sentencing, the judge spoke about the threat of terrorism by Islamist extremists. "This new threat has an added horror because the terrorist stands amongst the innocent men, women and children," he said.
"That's a feature in the material that was recovered here. It provides instructions for improvised explosives with the object of bringing down an aircraft and the lives of all those on board."
Boutrab, who refused to stand throughout the sentencing, is the first Islamist extremist to go on trial in Northern Ireland under the non-jury Diplock court system normally used for the trial of loyalist and republican paramilitaries.
Prosecutors said Boutrab was suspected of links to al-Qaida, citing telephone records and unspecified documents seized at his home.
During the trial, explosives expert Donald Sachtleben, of the FBI, said he had built and successfully detonated three bombs based on the instructions found in Boutrab's home.
A video showing the explosions, which blew apart a mocked-up row of airline seats and aircraft shell, was screened at the court.
At the time of his arrest, Boutrab was seeking work in Northern Ireland using a false passport in the name of Fabio Parenti, an Italian tourist whose passport was stolen at Dublin airport on September 1 2001.
Police also revealed Boutrab was wanted in the Irish Republic for attempted murder in 2002. Prosecutors said he had unsuccessfully sought asylum in the Netherlands, Ireland and the UK using several aliases.
He has already spent two years on remand, and it is possible he could be released in a year's time under rules for good behaviour.
After his conviction, the officer who led the investigation, Detective Superintendent Esmond Adair, said a dangerous man had been removed from the streets. "I believe he is an unrepentant terrorist," he added.
An Algerian with suspected links to al-Qaida was today jailed for six years for downloading instructions on how to blow up an aircraft with a bomb.
The 27-year-old man, sentenced at Belfast crown court, was found guilty of possessing and collecting information connected with terrorism.
Authorities have admitted they are unsure exactly who he is. During his six-week trial, he appeared in court under the name Abbas Boutrab. He has used at least seven aliases since his first known arrest for stealing a bag in Paris 13 years ago.
Detectives in Northern Ireland, the British security services and the FBI along with police in the Irish Republic, France and Holland, were all involved in the intelligence operation that led to Boutrab's capture.
Police initially arrested him on suspicion of being an illegal immigrant. He was detained during a raid on his flat at Whiteabbey, on the northern outskirts of Belfast, in April 2003.
Officers then found 25 computer discs containing instructions downloaded from the internet in the city's central library three months earlier.
The files detailed how to construct a bomb and smuggle it on board a passenger jet, the trial heard. They also included information on how to make a silencer for an assault rifle using household items.
Boutrab - who protests his innocence and plans to appeal against his conviction - was also found guilty of possessing a stolen Italian passport.
Mr Justice Weatherup told him he would be recommending his deportation.
During sentencing, the judge spoke about the threat of terrorism by Islamist extremists. "This new threat has an added horror because the terrorist stands amongst the innocent men, women and children," he said.
"That's a feature in the material that was recovered here. It provides instructions for improvised explosives with the object of bringing down an aircraft and the lives of all those on board."
Boutrab, who refused to stand throughout the sentencing, is the first Islamist extremist to go on trial in Northern Ireland under the non-jury Diplock court system normally used for the trial of loyalist and republican paramilitaries.
Prosecutors said Boutrab was suspected of links to al-Qaida, citing telephone records and unspecified documents seized at his home.
During the trial, explosives expert Donald Sachtleben, of the FBI, said he had built and successfully detonated three bombs based on the instructions found in Boutrab's home.
A video showing the explosions, which blew apart a mocked-up row of airline seats and aircraft shell, was screened at the court.
At the time of his arrest, Boutrab was seeking work in Northern Ireland using a false passport in the name of Fabio Parenti, an Italian tourist whose passport was stolen at Dublin airport on September 1 2001.
Police also revealed Boutrab was wanted in the Irish Republic for attempted murder in 2002. Prosecutors said he had unsuccessfully sought asylum in the Netherlands, Ireland and the UK using several aliases.
He has already spent two years on remand, and it is possible he could be released in a year's time under rules for good behaviour.
After his conviction, the officer who led the investigation, Detective Superintendent Esmond Adair, said a dangerous man had been removed from the streets. "I believe he is an unrepentant terrorist," he added.