PARSONS GREEN BOMBER
Who is Ahmed Hassan? Parsons Green Tube bomber from Iraq jailed for attempted murder
Iraqi teenager Ahmed Hassan had denied intending to kill anyone but presented with the overwhelming evidence a jury saw through his lies
PARSONS Green tube bomber Ahmed Hassan has been jailed for life.
The teenage Iraqi asylum seeker had denied intending to cause harm, during the trial, saying the intention of trying to kill someone had never crossed his mind. Here's what we know...
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What we know about Ahmed Hassan
Hassan is an 18-year-old asylum seeker from Iraqi who had been living with foster parents Ron and Penny Jones in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey.
He had arrived in Britain illegally in October 2015 having travelled via Turkey, Italy and France.
Hassan claimed he had been “abused” by the Italian authorities and said he was 16.
He travelled from there to Paris and then to Calais, where he stayed for around two months before entering the UK on a lorry in October 2015.
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He was then taken to Bay Tree, a Barnardo's home in Horley, Surrey, where he was for about six months, saying it was a "relief" after the refugee camp.
Hassan enrolled on a two-year media course at Brooklands College in Weybridge, Surrey, and said his ultimate goal was to become a wildlife photographer.
He described himself as a Sunni Muslim and said he prayed five times a day, but when asked if he cared about people being from other faiths, he said: "Not at all, not in the slightest."
In court, Hassan was described as a shy young man who chatted to college mates about Godzilla, Trainspotting and his love of horror films.
Reece Allingham worked with Hassan on a “superheroes” film project while attending college which was marked with “distinction”.
The only “odd” thing he noticed about the horror film fanatic was one occasion when he found him sitting in a dark room on his own at college.
Lecturers at the college described him as a disturbed young man who would storm out of classes but he became calmer when he moved in with his foster parents.
Hassan who was found guilty of attempted murder, was ordered to serve a minimum of 34 years.
What did he tell the authorities after being arrested?
During an interview with a Home Office immigration official he claimed he had spent three months with Islamic State “being trained to kill” and in a later interview he said ISIS had taken him by force, threatening to kill his elder brother and uncle.
Hassan claimed in court this had been a lie intended to create sympathy and secure his asylum status, saying he had heard it while in the refugee camp in Calais known as the "Jungle".
He did not dispute he made the bomb and planted it on a packed rush-hour District line Tube train on September 15, 2017, but did deny intending to kill anyone, saying he wanted the device to burn rather than detonate.
The planted device was surrounded by shrapnel, including knives, screwdrivers, nails and screws.
Commander Dean Haydon, head of Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command, said: "I describe Hassan as an intelligent and articulate individual that is devious and cunning in equal measures.
"He was studying at college in Surrey. Those very close to him, his foster family, friends and mentor, that were with him knew nothing about his plot of that actual attack.
"After he placed the device, he then tried to flee. He disposed of his phone, his sim card. He changed his clothes and he was finally arrested at the Port of Dover trying to get out of the country."
Mr Justice Haddon-Cave told Hassan he had been found guilty “on overwhelming evidence”.
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What was the Parsons Green Tube bombing?
Hassan planted the bomb on a District line Tube train on September 15, 2017, during the morning rush hour.
CCTV footage caught him carrying a Lidl cool bag which contained the bomb.
He took the bomb, concealed under a pair of trousers in the bag, to Sunbury train station, heading to Wimbledon where he armed the device in the station toilets.
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Hassan then got on the District line towards Edgware Road, leaving the ticking bomb on the floor when he got off the train at Putney Bridge.
The device partially detonated at Parsons Green station in south-west London.
The blast injured 29 people.
Hassan was later arrested in Dover as he tried to leave the country.
Parsons Green bomb accused Ahmed Hassan destroys mobile phone with chemicals, hammer and oven in homemade video released by Met Police
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