2:46pm Monday 29th June 2009
A former public schoolboy accused of making his own “suicide vest” using home-made explosives told a court he had become excited when he was told he would be housed with other terrorists in prison.
Isa Ibrahim also told the court other inmates in the high security unit at Belmarsh prison in London were famous and he had told them he was a terrorist to gain their “respect”.
”I was excited about it yeah. I knew people like Abu Hamza were in the unit - famous people were there,” he told the jury at Winchester Crown Court.
”I thought that would give me status to go there.”
Ibrahim explained that prison officers had been hostile towards him so he started saying things like “I am terrorist. Allah will prevail” and “the English should be killed” in order to get fellow Muslims on his side.
Under questioning from his defence counsel David Spens QC, Ibrahim said that suicide bombing was “completely wrong morally and as a Muslim”.
Mr Spens asked: “The prosecution allege, Mr Ibrahim, that you intended there would come a time when you would attempt to blow up fellow human beings.”
Ibrahim replied: “I never even considered it. It’s completely wrong.”
Under cross-examination on his fifth day giving evidence, Ibrahim said the move to Belmarsh had been a badge of honour and that he had “role playing” and saying things because he felt that was the only way to show he was firm of faith.
”I never said I wanted to kill people and the other things were said to be purely controversial,” he told the jury.
The 20-year-old from Comb Paddock, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, denies making an explosive with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury to property in the UK in April 2008.
He also denies a charge of preparing terrorist acts by purchasing material to make an explosive, making that explosive, buying material to detonate the explosive, carrying out “reconnaissance” before the act and “making an improvised suicide vest in which to then detonate an explosive substance”.
The jury has been told he has pleaded guilty to a third charge of making an explosive substance.
The trial has heard that when Ibrahim was arrested, a quantity of home-made high explosive, hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD), was found in a container in the fridge of his home.
Also found in his one-bedroom flat was an electrical circuit capable of detonating the explosive as well as a suicide vest, the court was told.
The prosecution claims the heroin and crack addict, who had been expelled from several schools, was preparing to carry out a terrorist attack on the Broadmead shopping centre in Bristol.
The trial has heard that Ibrahim became increasingly radicalised after converting to Islam and consequently changing his name from Andrew Philip Michael Ibrahim.
He spent several months researching Islamic fundamentalism on the internet including the motivation behind suicide attacks.
It’s also claimed he also used the internet to find instructions on how to make explosives from household products such as hydrogen peroxide.
The trial was told that he had described the UK as a “dirty toilet” and he believed the 9/11 attacks were a justifiable response to US and UK aggression towards Muslims.
By Martin Halfpenny
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