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British, Australian police charge two over failed car bombs
2007-07-14
Two Indian doctors were charged with terrorism offences Saturday -- one in Britain the other in Australia -- in connection with the three failed car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow last month. Cousins Sabeel Ahmed and Mohammed Haneef bring the total number of people facing charges to three, after police in London charged an Iraqi doctor on July 6. Three more suspects are still being questioned at a high-security police station in London, while another person has been released. The eighth suspect, Ahmed's older brother Kafeel, 27, remains critically ill with severe burns and under armed guard in hospital after being pulled from the burning wreckage of the Glasgow attack on June 30. Haneef, 27, was charged by Australian police with providing "reckless" support to a terrorist organisation allegedly behind the attempted bombings on June 29 and 30 by providing a mobile phone SIM card to members of the unnamed organisation. He has been in custody in Australia since his arrest in the eastern city of Brisbane on July 2 as he attempted to leave the country on a one-way ticket. He will appear before Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday. Sabeel Ahmed, 26, was arrested in Liverpool, north-west England, after the June 30 attack in Glasgow. The Glasgow attack came a day after two Mercedes-Benz cars were found packed with nails, petrol and gas canisters near a central London nightclub. Ahmed worked as a doctor at Halton Hospital in Runcorn, south-east of Liverpool. Scotland Yard said he is accused of having information that could have helped police prevent another person committing an act of terrorism or arrest and prosecute them for terrorist offences. No further detail was provided, in line with Britain's strict contempt of court laws that limit reporting before any trial. Ahmed is to appear before City of Westminster Magistrates Court in central London on Monday. In India, Haneef's wife Firdous said the accusation was "senseless." She said she had asked her country's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister A.K. Anthony to intervene. According to Australian media reports, the SIM card was found in Sabeel Ahmed's car. Haneef had allegedly given it to him before he moved to Australia last year so his cousin could take advantage of remaining minutes of call-time. Australian Federal Police commissioner Mick Keelty said it remained to be seen whether Haneef, who had been working as a registrar at the Gold Coast Hospital, would be extradited to Britain. Meanwhile, Jordanian doctor Mohammed Asha, 26, and two trainee doctors aged 24 and 27, whose identities have not yet emerged, remained in custody this weekend. Scotland Yard said Saturday that a magistrate had granted detectives until July 21 to detain and question Asha. The deadline for the other two runs out on Sunday. In Britain, police have up to 28 days to detain and question them, subject to regular judicial review. Asha's wife, Marwa Daana, a 27-year-old laboratory assistant, was released without charge on Thursday. The first to be charged, 27-year-old Iraqi doctor Bilal Abdulla, was remanded in custody last Saturday a day after being charged with conspiracy to cause explosions. He is alleged to have been a passenger in the blazing Jeep Cherokee that Kafeel Ahmed is said to have driven into Glasgow Airport's main terminal building. After that attack, Britain raised its security alert level to its highest, indicating an attack was imminent. The level of "critical" has since been downgraded to "severe", the second highest, which means an attack is still highly likely.
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