Brother of Glasgow Airport bomber jailed; deported
12.04.08
An Indian doctor has been jailed for withholding information about a failed suicide car bomb attack on Glasgow Airport.
Sabeel Ahmed, 26, who was living and working in Liverpool, appeared at the Old Bailey yesterday in relation to the June 30 atrocity. He pleaded guilty to withholding information from the police about the terrorist attack and was today sentenced to 18 months in jail.
Bilal Abdullah and Kafeel Ahmed, 27, Sabeel Ahmed’s engineer brother, were arrested after a flaming Jeep was driven into the doors of the arrivals hall of Glasgow Airport on June 30. The previous day, police found two cars laden with gas canisters and fuel in central London. Kafeel Ahmed died of burns after being injured in the Glasgow attack.
Sabeel Ahmed, originally from Bangalore, India, was arrested near Liverpool's Lime Street station on 30 June. When police searched his Liverpool home, they discovered a laptop carrying documents written by his brother and evidence he had accessed the files.
Kafeel, who had a PhD in engineering, suffered 90 percent burns and died of his injuries several weeks later. Two days before the Glasgow attack, he had sent an e-mail which directed his brother to online documents containing his will and instructions on how to frustrate and mislead investigators.
According Jonathan Laidlaw, prosecuting, Sabeel's older brother sent him a text message telling him to check his e-mails. By the time he logged on, his brother was fighting for his life, having driven a burning Jeep into the airport.
As the 26-year-old stood in the dock at the Old Bailey, chilling details emerged of the Glasgow attack. His brother had determined to execute his plan when it could have had the most devastating effects – on June 30, the busiest day of the year at Scotland's busiest holiday airport
With the burden of knowledge came a terrible dilemma for the young doctor – to tell or not to tell. He chose not to. Mr Laidlaw said that he ‘did not exercise his right to silence’ but instead tried to mislead investigators.
Sabeel Ahmed was jailed for 18 months yesterday after pleading guilty to withholding information about the terrorist plot which ultimately led to his brother sacrificing his life in the name of Allah. He was facing a maximum sentence of 5 years, but the tariff was reduced because he did not read the e-mail until the evening after the attack had taken place.
As he has already served half his sentence on remand, and has agreed to leave the country, he was to be released into the custody of the immigration service to be deported back to India.
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