Four London Tube Bombers Lose Appeal

16 December 2014, 10:01

Four men who attempted to blow up the London Underground network on July 21 2005 have lost an appeal against their convictions at the European Court of Human Rights.

Somali nationals Muktar Said Ibrahim, Ramzi Mohammed and Yassin Omar claimed their convictions were unfair as they were denied access to lawyers during police questioning and statements they gave were subsequently used at trial.

A fourth man - Ismail Abdurahman - was convicted of assisting one of the suspected bombers and also claimed his trial was unfair as a statement he provided as a witness, rather than a suspect, was used against him.

Human rights judges in Strasbourg, France, found that no prejudice had been caused to the failed bombers' right to a fair trial as a result of the failure to provide access to a lawyer before and during their interviews or to provide access to a lawyer to Abdurahman during his initial police interview.

All four men have three months to refer their appeal to the Grand Chamber of the ECHR for a final attempt to challenge their convictions.

The planned attack came two weeks after the 7/7 bombers killed 52 people on three Tube trains and a bus in central London in 2005.

Ibrahim, Mohammed and Omar were convicted in July 2007 of conspiracy to murder and sentenced to a minimum term of 40 years imprisonment.

Abdurahman was convicted in February 2008 of assisting one of the suspected bombers and of failing to disclose information about the bombings.