A British couple said to be of Pakistan-origin were sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday, a day after being found guilty of plotting a massive terror attack in London ahead of the 10th anniversary of the July 7 bombings this year.
Mohammed Rehman, who tweeted on whether to target the London Underground network or Westfield shopping centre of the city under the name “Silent Bomber”, will serve a minimum of 27 years in jail before being considered for parole. His wife Sana Ahmed Khan, who plotted to become Britain’s first woman suicide bomber, will serve a minimum of 25 years behind bars.
The Old Bailey court in London heard how the couple, believed to be of Pakistani origin, married in a secret ceremony because her parents did not approve of the drug-taking divorcee Rehman who also had a wife from a previous arranged marriage in Pakistan.
With money from Khan, the 25-year-old stockpiled chemicals needed to make a huge bomb at his family home in Reading, about an hour west of London, and even filmed himself setting off a small explosion in his back garden.
Susan Hemming, head of the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) counter-terrorism division, said: “The intention to carry out some form of terrorism attack was clear from the threatening statements made in Rehman’s tweets. It was these tweets that led to his and his wife’s arrest.
“Investigations found that Rehman and Khan had carried out huge amounts of research relating to terrorist attacks — repeatedly searching the Internet for videos relating to the London bombings. 10 kg of Urea Nitrate were found at Rehman’s house, a highly explosive chemical, which if detonated would have caused multiple fatalities on the London Underground.
“The pair had been very close to carrying out an attack, all they required was to purchase the chemicals to make a detonator.”
Police began monitoring Rehman after he sent out a tweet in May, asking followers to advise him on where he should carry out a terrorist attack: “Westfield shopping centre or London underground? Any advice would be appreciated greatly.”
Rehman used an image of the Jihadi John, believed killed earlier this year, as his profile picture.
Khan, who studied English at the University of Greenwich in south—east London, had known Rehman for 10 years. She kept their marriage a secret from her family and ignored the pleas of her parents to end her relationship with the drug addict.
Khan’s mother Saleen Ahmed—Khan told the court that they were a “multi—religious family” — her mother’s side of the family were converts to Islam from Hinduism, while her mother— in—law was a Christian.
Rehman’s family also described him as a “low—life idiot” and his mother said she could never forgive him.
The July 7, 2005 attacks had killed 52 civilians.
