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LONDON - Four men jailed for life for trying to bomb London's transport system in 2005 have launched an appeal, claiming their bomb plot was just a hoax designed to send a political statement.
The four were convicted last year of a plan to replicate the London suicide bombings of July 7, 2005 which had killed 52 commuters just two weeks earlier.
They are serving at least 40 years in jail for trying to detonate hydrogen peroxide-based bombs on three underground trains and at a bus station.
Although the detonators on their makeshift bombs fired, the main charges failed to explode and no one was killed in the July 21, 2005 attempts.
Muktah Said Ibrahim, Yassin Hassan Omar, Ramzi Mohammed and Hussain Osman were found guilty of conspiracy to murder after a trial lasting almost six months. They are appealing against their conviction.
A fifth man, Manfo Kwaku Asiedu, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cause explosions on the eve of his retrial in November after the original jury failed to reach a verdict.
He is only seeking to appeal against his 33-year-sentence.
The group appeared via video link at London's Appeal Court on Wednesday.
George Carter-Stephenson, for Ibrahim - the plot's alleged ringleader - told the court the failed bombings were designed to send a political message.
"The applicant's case is that the events of 21 July were an elaborate hoax designed to protest against and draw attention to Britain's role in the attack on Iraq," he told the court.
"The devices were made to look realistic but included flaws to ensure the main charge would not detonate."
He said the appeal was also based on several wrong decisions from the trial judge, Adrian Fulford.
At the time, three years ago, police said the men, Muslims of African origin, would have caused carnage on a similar scale to 7/7.
Police launched the country's biggest manhunt for the would-be bombers, all of whom escaped in the chaotic aftermath, and managed to track them down in just over a week.
A sixth member of the gang, Adel Yahya, who was jailed for nearly seven years last November after pleading guilty to a lesser offence, is not part of the appeal group.
The hearing, before Justices Igor Judge, John Forbes and Colin Mackay, is expected to last two days. The judges will rule on whether to allow the appeal at a later date.
- REUTERS
