04 October 2004
United States Indicts British Terror Suspect
Saajid Badat indicted for conspiracy, attempted murder
Washington -- The United States has indicted British terror suspect Saajid Mohammad Badat for conspiracy and attempted murder in a plot with convicted "shoe bomber" Richard Reid to attack American interests and commercial aircraft, Attorney General John Ashcroft said October 4.
Ashcroft said the United States will request the extradition of Badat to stand trial in the United States.
Badat was arrested November 27, 2003, in Gloucester, England, and has been held since then in a British prison. He is set to stand trial there in February 2005 on similar charges, Ashcroft said during a news briefing in Washington.
The indictment alleges Badat conspired to destroy an aircraft, conspired to commit murder, and attempted to commit murder in a plot with Reid, who is already in prison, Ashcroft said. The indictment also alleges Badat obtained shoe bombs in Afghanistan.
According to the indictment, bomb-making components -- including the explosive TATP (triacetone triperoxide) -- were found in Badat's home at the time of his arrest.
The indictment said that Badat "admitted that he was asked to conduct a shoe bombing like Reid."
"The U.S. indictment against Saajid Mohammed Badat alleges a conspiracy with Richard Reid that was designed to kill hundreds of Americans," Ashcroft said. "The alert passengers and crew of Flight 63 prevented Richard Reid from carrying out his deadly mission. The resulting investigation led us and our British colleagues to Badat. The Justice Department will continue doing everything in its power to prevent terrorists and their supporters from harming the citizens of the United States."
Reid was arrested December 22, 2001, after he attempted to detonate explosives concealed in his shoes on an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami. The flight was diverted to Boston where the FBI arrested him.
Reid, an admitted follower of al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, was given a life prison sentence in January 2003, after admitting he planned to blow up the transatlantic flight.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=October&x=20041004162838dmslahrellek0.790188&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html
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