BY JAMES SIMONS
A West London expert bomber has been sentenced to two life sentnces of 38 years and 25 years consecutively for murder and conspiracy to murder. Anis Abid Sarda told the court he was in a ‘lawless warzone’ and was only trying to defend fellow Sunni Muslims against attacks from Shia militia forces. However, when police raided his home in September last year, they found a bomb-making manual written in Arabic, evidencing his conscious and proactive involvement in the attack
The Londoner originally denied any involvement, rather insisting he was in Damascus to study the Arabic langiage in Syria at the time the bombs were made. However, after his fingerprints were found on tape pulled from two of the bombs, he was forced to admit helping Sajjad Adnan in the production of IEDs whilst in Iraq in 2007
He said he was sad about the death of Sgt Johnson, but was brave to tell a court that Tony Blair, Dick Cheney and George Bush were the real culprits of the murder. The implication of his words are that had Blair and Bush not started the war, he would not have prepared a bomb that eventually killed the victim for which he was being charged. It was somewhat interesting to hear him utter such words in a court. Though it is well known now that the Iraq war was wrong and illegal, however the participants of a war involve soldiers, and the politicians whose actions and inactions lead to the war. A cabbie from West London has no business creating a bomb for a war.
Besides, despite the Iraq war being wrong and illegal, the dethronment of Saddam Hussein was positive and necessary.He was a dangerous dictator. So, the war was necessary, but the reasons presented were flawed and indefensible.
A Commander Richard Walton, Head of the Metropolitan Police’s counter terrorism command (SO15) said: “This sentence brings to an end an investigation that has spanned almost eight years and I hope that it will bring some comfort to the family of Sergeant Johnson, who tragically lost his life in the service of his country.
“This case demonstrates our resolve to convict anyone committing terrorism anywhere in the world, even if it takes us many years.
“I hope that it further stands as a deterrent to those thinking today that they can undertake terrorist activity overseas without fear of the law. Over time circumstances change, and when and where we have evidence we will seek to bring them before a court.
“I’d also like to praise the work of investigators, officers and scientists both here in the UK and in the US, who worked together to bring a terrorist and murderer to justice. Without their dedication and commitment throughout this investigation, this outcome would not have been possible.”
