Al Qaeda Operative Convicted of Aiding In London Bombings Released After Only 4 Years In Prison, Given Probation

Flowers are seen placed at the London Bombing Memorial, on the fifth anniversary of the attacks, in Hyde Park July 7, 2010. Fifty two people were killed and hundreds were injured when suicide bombers attacked three Underground trains and a bus on July 7, 2005. – Reuters Photo


Just a reminder for those who may be a little foggy about the London bombings of 2005 where al Qaeda-linked islamic jihadis blew themselves up and killed 52 innocent British citizens...and now it is revealed that a few months ago, one of the al Qaeda terrorists who assisted in that operation, who subsequently cooperated with the government's case, was released from prison after serving less than 5 years in prison - he gets 10 years probation and walks the streets he once helped cover with British blood.

Needless to say, there are many in Britain who are outraged. From the article at DAWN:

An al Qaeda operative who helped set up the camp where the 2005 London suicide bombers were trained has been sentenced to 10 years of probation after serving less than five years in prison.

Mohammed Junaid Babar, 35, confessed in 2004 to setting up the camp in South Waziristan, Pakistan, and equipping it with explosives, night vision goggles and camping gear. He told a federal judge in New York that he knew some of the militants were planning a bomb attack in Britain.

His sentence, which was originally reported on Monday by the Guardian newspaper, prompted a fierce reaction in Britain. A lawyer representing victims’ families and survivors of the London bombings called the move “crazy.”

“There is no way a reduction of this size has any regard to the feelings of victims,” Clifford Tibber said Monday. Graham Foulkes, whose 22-year-old son David was killed by one of the blasts that hit London’s transport network, said Babar’s cooperation with US authorities does not diminish his role in the attacks.

“To be responsible for the deaths of 52 people, serve four-and-a-half years and be released and to say that means he has paid his debt to society just beggars belief,” Foulkes told the UK’s Guardian newspaper.

Since when do we have to offer any terrorist a reduced sentence for cooperation? And considering the actual bombers of London all died in the operation, what the hell is the pay off? Is this really the signal we want sent to every jihadi across the world? Oh yeah, do your dirty deeds, kill innocents freely and spend less time in prison than if you cheated on your taxes.

Look at this case and then ask me why the possible civilian trials of dirtbags like Khalid Sheik Muhammad would be racked with pitfalls. We have some dipshit judge in New York who treats this al Qaeda operative involved in the London bombings like he's some Mafia snitch accountant.

This clown has the blood of over 50 Brits on his hands and now walks free - and the fact of the matter is this - he'll violate his probation in less than a year, leave for Pakistan and he'll be back at his terrorist trade once again. Wanna bet on that?

Al Qaeda member who aided London bombers released


NEW YORK: An al Qaeda operative who helped set up the camp where the 2005 London suicide bombers were trained has been sentenced to 10 years of probation after serving less than five years in prison.

Mohammed Junaid Babar, 35, confessed in 2004 to setting up the camp in South Waziristan, Pakistan, and equipping it with explosives, night vision goggles and camping gear. He told a federal judge in New York that he knew some of the militants were planning a bomb attack in Britain.

A year after his confession, four men who were trained at the camp detonated backpack bombs in the London subway, killing themselves and 52 victims.

After the bombings, Babar testified for the government in four trials targeting al Qaeda militants, three of the trials in Britain and one in Canada. At least 10 people were convicted because of his testimony, the US government says.

Babar pleaded guilty to five terrorism charges and faced a possible 70 years in prison, but court documents show that on Dec. 10 he was sentenced to time served and 10 years of probation as a reward for his cooperation. In all, he spent only four years and eight months behind bars, the US Attorney’s Office said.

His sentence, which was originally reported on Monday by the Guardian newspaper, prompted a fierce reaction in Britain. A lawyer representing victims’ families and survivors of the London bombings called the move “crazy.”

“There is no way a reduction of this size has any regard to the feelings of victims,” Clifford Tibber said Monday. Graham Foulkes, whose 22-year-old son David was killed by one of the blasts that hit London’s transport network, said Babar’s cooperation with US authorities does not diminish his role in the attacks.

“To be responsible for the deaths of 52 people, serve four-and-a-half years and be released and to say that means he has paid his debt to society just beggars belief,” Foulkes told the UK’s Guardian newspaper.

Babar’s defense lawyer did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

Babar, a US citizen, was arrested in 2004 on five charges of supporting al Qaeda. In a court appearance in June 2004, he told federal judge Victor Marrero that he helped set up the base in the summer of 2003 to train Taliban militants who were fighting US troops in Afghanistan.

He said he delivered night vision goggles, sleeping bags, waterproof socks, rain ponchos and money to a “high ranking official” of al Qaeda who was running the camp. He also arranged shipments of aluminum nitrate, ammonium nitrate and aluminum powder for making bombs that were tested at the camp.

“I was aware that some of the people who attended the jihad training camp had ideas about, you know, plotting against some targets in the United Kingdom, and I provided some of the materials,” Babar told the judge.

During testimony he gave in the Canadian and British trials, Babar said he became radicalised by the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. He quit his job as a computer programmer in New York and moved to Lahore, Pakistan. There he participated in two failed plots to kill then-President Pervez Musharraf and became familiar with other al Qaeda recruits from abroad.

As part of his Dec. 10 sentencing, the judge ordered Babar to pay a $500 fine.

Prosecutors agreed to enroll him in the US government’s witness protection program and give new identities to him and his family. Babar’s plea agreement with the government bars him from striking any book deals or giving interviews to news media.

Under the terms of his release Babar must meet monthly with a probation officer and cannot travel without the government’s permission. After five years he can apply to have the remaining five years of probation lifted, court documents show.

On Monday the US Attorney’s office originally said Babar had been jailed for five years. It later issued a correction, saying he only spent 56 months behind bars.