July 21 suspect 'no fanatic'

The jury in the July 21 terror trial has heard from the only defendant to claim the plot was not a hoax.Manfo Kwaku Asiedu broke ranks with his five co-defendants and accused them of planning an attack "bigger and better" than July 7.Ghanaian-born Asiedu, who the Crown claim dumped his rucksack device after losing his nerve at the last minute, told Woolwich Crown Court he had even applied to join the British Army.His counsel, Stephen Kamlish QC, opened his client's case saying that not only was Asiedu not a suicide bomber, but that he potentially saved a tower block of people from being blown up.He later put it to him: "It's alleged that you are a fanatic, do you understand? An anti-British, anti-American fanatic who wants to blow people up.""No that's not true. Fanaticism has never come across my mind. In Ghana we don't have extremism," Asiedu replied.Mr Kamlish said there was "simply no evidence" of him being a fanatic and "being a fanatic is a basic minimum requirement for being a suicide bomber".He claimed his client was "used and abused" by co-defendant Muktar Said Ibrahim who was a "cowardly, manipulative schemer".He said that until recently, Ibrahim and co-defendant Yassin Omar's "influence" had stopped him "from giving the game away".Mr Kamlish said he hoped that by listening to Asiedu and other defence witnesses, the nine-woman-three-man jury would see him for "what he is"."A decent and not stupid but somewhat childlike and sometimes naive young man who is just not capable of the sort of malicious and sophisticated badness that will be alleged against him," Mr Kamlish said.Mr Kamlish told the court that Asiedu had been under intense pressure, and was even threatened by another defendant since "breaking ranks".On one occasion, Hussain Osman shouted "Murthaad" at Asiedu, who now sits apart from the other defendants in the dock, he said.He told jurors the term referred to the judgment of an Islamic court where a person has been found guilty and likely to be sentenced to death by beheading."So when somebody talks of Murthaad, it means in effect you are going to be beheaded," Mr Kamlish said.Asiedu of no fixed address, Ibrahim, 29, of Stoke Newington, north London, Omar, 26, from New Southgate, north London, and Osman 28, of no fixed address are among six men accused of taking part in an extremist Muslim plot to carry out a series of murderous suicide bombings on the London transport system.The others are Ramzi Mohammed, 25, of North Kensington, west London and Adel Yahya, 24, of High Road, Tottenham, north London.They all deny charges of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause explosions likely to endanger life.© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

ITN | April 17, 2007

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