Terror suspect in religion claim

Yassin Omar, 26, insisted the rucksack explosive he detonated at Warren Street was never designed to hurt anyone and was a protest against the war in Iraq.

But the Somalian-born defendant told Woolwich Crown Court that the authorities immediately assumed he was trying to kill himself. "Because I am Muslim, straight away that meant I was a suicide bomber," he said.

Omar said letter bombs sent across the country in recent months had not been taken so seriously. Prosecuting counsel Nigel Sweeney QC, who cross-examined Omar, retorted: "That is a total and utter tripe."

Omar replied: "That is the truth. There is a man sending mail letter bombs and everyone says it is only to cause a bit of harm and to scare people. But if you are Muslim, you must be a terrorist and wanting to kill people."

Omar, from New Southgate, north London, is one of six men who denies plotting and carrying out an extremist Muslim plot by detonating bombs across London's transport network.

But under questioning, he admitted that much of what he told police after his arrest on July 27 was a lie. He conceded that he had made up a fictional character called Hassan who provided an alibi for the night of July 20 and the morning of July 21. Mr Sweeney accused Omar of concocting a "complete pack of lies".

"Hassan was a complete invention," the defendant admitted. I told the police what they wanted to hear. I was scared, I thought they might torture me if I did not co-operate. I did not know what they were going to do with me. Most of the time I was not telling the truth."

Omar said he lied about the whereabouts of his co-defendants because he feared the police might shoot them, as they had Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes.

Omar and his five co-defendants deny the charges of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause explosions likely to endanger life. The others in the dock are Hussain Osman, 28, of no fixed address; Mukta Said Ibrahim, 29, from Stoke Newington, north London; Ramzi Mohammed, 25, of North Kensington, west London; Adel Yahya, 24, of High Road, Tottenham, north London and Manfo Kwaku Asiedu, 34, of no fixed address.