7/7 inquests to probe MI5 and police role : WTF ???

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BBC News - 7/7 inquests to probe MI5 and police role

Inquests into the deaths of 52 people killed in the 7/7 bombings will examine the alleged failings of MI5 in the run-up to the attacks, a coroner has ruled.

Lady Justice Hallett told the Royal Courts of Justice it was still possible to investigate what security services knew before the 2005 London attacks.

She also ruled the inquests of the four bombers would not be heard at the same time as those of the victims.

Victims' families said they hoped they would finally find out what happened.

Bereaved relatives have long campaigned for the inquests to investigate whether the attacks could have been prevented after it was revealed two of the bombers had cropped up in a surveillance operation more than a year before.

There is hope that finally the question, could 7 July have been prevented, might be answered
Solicitor Clifford Tibber

7/7 inquests: Q&A
In Depth: London attacks

They also want to know if there were any failings in the emergency response that followed.

Clifford Tibber, from the firm of solicitors representing many relatives, told a news conference the coroner's decision had sparked mixed feelings among relatives.

There was disappointment that the legal process had taken so long but also optimism that they would now learn "what actually happened to their loved ones", he said.

"There is a hope that if the response of the emergency services did in any way fail those who needed treatment, that lessons will have been learnt from those failings and that appropriate measures will be put in place in future to ensure it does not happen again.

"There is hope that finally the question, could 7 July have been prevented, might be answered," he added.

However, Mr Tibber did not rule out calling for a further public inquiry.

Prime Minister David Cameron asked questions about whether an inquiry would be held while in opposition and his deputy Nick Clegg had previously called for a full public inquiry, he added.

'Faith in coroner'

Fifty-two people died when suicide bombers struck aboard Tube trains near Edgware Road, King's Cross and Aldgate and on the number 30 bus at Tavistock Square, all in central London.

Janine Mitchell, whose husband Paul survived the King's Cross explosion, said she hoped the inquests would be a chance to finally learn about the role of the security services ahead of the attacks.

"We do not know what went on and we are relieved that someone independent of government is going to examine what happened," she told the news conference.

Again we have be shunted aside by officialdom
Survivor Jacqui Putnam

"We put all our faith in the coroner to do that, so if anything did go wrong it can be fixed."

Ros Morley, whose husband Colin was killed in the bombings, welcomed the ruling not to hold the bombers' inquests at the same time as those of their victims.

"It is absolutely the right decision," she said.

However, there was disappointment among the survivors after Lady Hallett confirmed that although she would give victims' relatives and the emergency services "interested persons" status, survivors would not receive the same right to question witnesses.

Jacqui Putnam, a survivor of the Edgware Road bombing, said she feared the coroner's decision would deny her and fellow survivors a proper voice.

"Our role now will be one of answering questions only - which we will do willingly, but our questions are not going to be answered unless they are asked by someone else who is one of the bereaved," she said.

"Again we have be shunted aside by officialdom."

No jury

Lady Hallett earlier explained in court that the inquests into the 52 deaths, which will be heard without a jury, would include the "alleged intelligence failings and the immediate aftermath of the bombings".

"To my mind it is not too remote to investigate what was known in the year or two before the alleged bombings," she said. "Plots of this kind are not developed overnight."

7/7 inquests 'chance to tell story'

Many of the bereaved families want to find out why the security service did not follow up the bombers' ringleader Mohammad Sidique Khan after he was witnessed meeting a known terror suspect 17 months before the attacks.

However, lawyers for MI5 have argued this evidence would give al-Qaeda an "invaluable weapon" and should not be disclosed.

Lady Hallett said that sitting without a jury would mean such sensitive intelligence material could be "more effectively examined", but she added that the secret nature of the evidence might limit the extent to which the issue could be explored.

Khan, 30, from Dewsbury, near Leeds, carried out the attacks with three other suicide bombers.

The 7/7 inquests are expected to begin in October at London's Royal Courts of Justice. They have been delayed by court cases connected to the bombings.

 

[T-Faz]

Here is some interesting info.

Late 1990s: British Intelligence Does Not Stop Possible Future 7/7 Bombings Mastermind from Recruiting for Al-Qaeda in London
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Abu Hamza al-Masri (left) riding in a car with Haroon Rashid Aswat in January 1999.Abu Hamza al-Masri (left) riding in a car with Haroon Rashid Aswat in January 1999. [Source: Sunday Times]Haroon Rashid Aswat is a radical Muslim of Indian descent but born and raised in Britain. Around 1995, when he was about 21 years old, he left Britain and attended militant training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He is said to have later told investigators that he once served as a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden. In the late 1990s, he returns to Britain and becomes a “highly public aide” to radical London imam Abu Hamza al-Masri. Reda Hassaine, an informant for the French and British intelligence services (see After March 1997 and Late January 1999), will later recall regularly seeing Aswat at the Finsbury Park mosque where Abu Hamza preaches. Hassaine frequently sees Aswat recruiting young men to join al-Qaeda. “Inside the mosque he would sit with the new recruits telling them about life after death and the obligation of every Muslim to do the jihad against the unbelievers. All the talk was about killing in order to go to paradise and get the 72 virgins.” Aswat also shows potential recruits videos of the militants fighting in Bosnia and Chechnya. Hassaine will add: “He was always wearing Afghan or combat clothes. In the evening he offered some tea to the people who would sit with him to listen to the heroic action of the mujaheddin before joining the cleric for the finishing touch of brainwashing. The British didn’t seem to understand how dangerous these people were.” Hassaine presumably tells his British handlers about Aswat, as he is regularly reporting about activities as the mosque around this time, but the British take no action. [Sunday Times (London), 7/31/2005] It will later be reported that Aswat is the mastermind of the 7/7 London bombings (see Late June-July 7, 2005). Some of the 7/7 suicide bombers regularly attended the Finsbury Park mosque, and may have been recruited by al-Qaeda there or at another mosque in Britain. Counterterrorism expert John Loftus will later claim that Aswat in fact was working with British intelligence. He will say that in the late 1990s British intelligence was trying to get Islamist militants to fight in Kosovo against the Serbians and Aswat was part of this recruitment effort (see July 29, 2005). [Fox News, 7/29/2005]

Entity Tags: Reda Hassaine, Abu Hamza al-Masri, Al-Qaeda, John Loftus, Haroon Rashid Aswat

Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline

Early 1997: Leading Radical Imam Abu Hamza Begins Working with British Security Services

Abu Hamza.Abu Hamza. [Source: Ian Waldie / Reuters / Corbis]London-based imam Abu Hamza al-Masri starts working with two branches of the British security services, the police’s Special Branch and MI5, the domestic counterintelligence service. The relationships continue for several years and there are at least seven meetings between Abu Hamza and MI5 between 1997 and 2000 (see October 1, 1997, November 20, 1997, and September 1998). Based on records of the meetings, authors Daniel O’Neill and Sean McGrory will describe the relationship as “respectful, polite, and often cooperative.”
Rhetoric - One theme in the meetings, which take place at Abu Hamza’s home and a mosque he runs in Finsbury Park, is that the security services tell Abu Hamza that they do not want any trouble and ask him to tone down some of his more inflammatory comments. Abu Hamza listens politely, but always replies he is committed to jihad. However, over this period Abu Hamza’s rhetoric changes subtly, and he begins attacking “Zionists,” rather than simply “Jews.” Abu Hamza will later say that he asks security officers if his sermons are inappropriate, and they reply, “No, freedom of speech, you don’t have to worry unless we see blood on the streets.”

Information - Abu Hamza provides the security services with information about the ideology of various extremist factions, as well as “tidbits” of information about others, although in one case he provides specific intelligence that leads to the detention of two terrorist suspects. He also likes to “tell tales” about one of his rival preachers, Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed, and his Al-Muhajiroun organization.

Favors - Sometimes Abu Hamza asks for favors from his handlers. For example, on one occasion he requests the release of some associates after promising that they are not a threat in Britain.

Beyond the Reach of British Law - Abu Hamza will tell his aides that he is “beyond the reach of British law,” and will neglect to pay the mosque’s electricity and water bills. Authors Sean O’Neill and Daniel McGrory will later comment: “Increasingly, Abu Hamza acted as if Finsbury Park had divorced itself from Britain and was operating as an independent Muslim state. He contacted extremist groups, offering his services as an ambassador for them in [Britain] and presenting the mosque as a place of guaranteed asylum.” [O'Neill and McGrory, 2006, pp. 96-97, 143-5]

Entity Tags: UK Security Service (MI5), Sean O’Neill, Daniel McGrory, Abu Hamza al-Masri, Metropolitan Police Special Branch, Special Branch (Britain)

 

[Emperor Palpatine]

Here is some interesting info.

where is the source buddy ?

 

[T-Faz]

where is the source buddy ?

The refrences to each and everyline is provided there. You should search the megazines and newspaper cited there for your info.

However you can use this.

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