'Terrorist' freed early after turning 'supergrass'

[cem]

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9207693/Terrorist -freed-early-after-turning-supergrass.html


excerpt from: Terrorist freed early after turning supergrass

A convicted Islamic terrorist who was the accomplice of shoe bomber Richard Reid has been freed from prison after becoming Britain's first al-Qaeda supergrass.

by Tom Whitehead, Mark Hughes and Martin Beckford, Daily Telegraph, 17 April 2012

[Mark Gobell]

Perhaps the most interesting news from this very interesting transatlantic co-operation news is the revelation in the CPS notes below, of Sajid Badat's "back of a police car confession" ... honest Sarj ...

119 houses evacuated, apparently, during his arrest in Gloucester too.

I'm just thinking why would you put yourself at all that risk for the sake of 2 years and also, how would you survive saying no to an offer of a reduction of 2 years anyway ...

Sajid Badat has been out since March 2010.

The trial of Adis Medunjanin started in NYC on 16.4.2012, the same day that we were told of Sajid Badat's release and SOCPA deal and Badat's supergrass participation in said trial.


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Convicted terrorist to help authorities - joint CPS and MPS statement

http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/press_releases/108_12/

16/04/2012

The Crown Prosecution Service can reveal that a UK convicted terrorist has, for the first time, entered into an agreement with the CPS to give evidence in a trial against other alleged terrorists. Strict reporting restrictions on this matter have now been lifted.

Sue Hemming, Head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said the agreement with Saajid Muhammad Badat had not been entered into lightly.

Ms Hemming said: "We considered very carefully the merits of entering into this agreement with a convicted terrorist, and we believe that the administration of justice internationally benefits from such an agreement.

"This trial is the first time a UK convicted terrorist, has agreed, under the terms of our agreement, to give evidence in the United States. This will be in the trial, opening today in New York, of Adis Medunjanin, relating to an alleged al-Qaeda martyrdom plot in New York from 2008-2010.

"Badat has helped with investigations in this country, he continues to co-operate and has agreed to testify in other trials if called upon."

On 29 February 2005, Badat pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy with others to destroy a passenger airliner whilst in flight by igniting a high-explosive device, and on 22 April 2005 he was sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment. This took into account his withdrawal from the plot, his guilty plea and other personal mitigation.

Ms Hemming said: "While in prison he fully co-operated with investigators in the Counter Terrorism Command of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and US law enforcement officers in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and provided information of overwhelming importance in relation to investigations they were conducting.

"In 2009, the CPS entered into an agreement with Badat under Sec 74 of the Serious and Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. The provisions of SOCPA have proved to be a valuable tool for investigators and prosecutors in providing evidence about terrorist activity."

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Osborne, Senior National Co-ordinator Counter Terrorism said: "The Counter Terrorism Command of the MPS will use all available legislative processes to combat terrorism.

"This case is an example where the SOCPA legislation has secured substantial and significant evidence and intelligence relating to investigations undertaken by the Counter Terrorism Command which has also assisted law enforcement agencies in other countries."

On 13 November 2009 under the terms of the SOCPA agreement, full details of the assistance Badat had provided were referred to the Crown Court to allow a judge to consider reducing his sentence. The judge took into account the valuable assistance provided and reduced his sentence to 11 years' imprisonment.

At the time of the hearing there was a joint application by CPS and defence for the judge to make an order under Sec 75 SOCPA prohibiting the publication of any matter relating to the proceedings until further order. This was for the safety of Badat.

It was agreed that when Badat would be required to give evidence in a public court the order would be lifted. Badat is now to give evidence in the trial of Adis Medunjanin in the federal court in Brooklyn, in the Eastern District of New York, and so the order has now been lifted.

Ends
Notes to Editors

Badat's co-conspirator in the plot to destroy passenger aircraft was Richard Reid, the "shoe bomber". Reid pleaded to eight terrorism charges in the US and is currently serving a life sentence there without parole.

Adis Medunjanin has been charged with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction; conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country, providing material support to al-Qaeda and related charges. The trial is due to start on 16 April 2012 in New York. The charges contained in the indictment against Medunjanin are merely allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

PDF copies of Counsel's opening on the case of Badat, the judge's sentencing remarks and the SOCPA application can be found on the CPS website (Adobe Reader needed)

General guidance on SOCPA undertakings can be found on the CPS website

For media enquiries call the CPS Press Office on 020 3357 0906; Out of Hours Pager 07699 781 926

The DPP has set out what the public can expect from the CPS in the Core Quality Standards document published in March 2010.

The CPS consists of 13 Areas in total, each headed by a Chief Crown Prosecutor (CCP). In addition, there are three specialised national divisions: Central Fraud Group, Special Crime and Counter-Terrorism, and Organised Crime. A telephone service, CPS Direct, provides out-of-hours advice and decisions to police officers across England and Wales.

The CPS employs around 8,316 people and prosecuted 982,731 cases with a conviction rate of 86.8% in the magistrates' courts and 80.7% in the Crown Court in 2009-20010. Further information can be found on the CPS website.

The CPS, together with ACPO and media representatives, has developed a Protocol for the release of prosecution material to the media. This sets out the type of prosecution material that will normally be released, or considered for release, together with the factors we will take into account when considering requests. Read the Protocol for the release of prosecution material to the media.



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[fish5133]

Strings obviously being pulled from high places. Sounds like a very well contrived plan to free an agent.

[scienceplease 2]

[Mark Gobell]

[Mark Gobell]

Sajid Badat born March 1979 shown on the left in Court in Brooklyn in April 2012 aged 33 and Sajid Badat in a police handout from April 2005 aged 26, or possibly an arrest photo from Nov 2003 aged 24.

Must be all that "remembering" taking it's toll...

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The Telegraph

Police fear for safety of al-Qaeda turncoat

Scotland Yard tried to suppress evidence to be given by a convicted British terrorist to an American court because they feared it could put him in danger from al-Qaeda operatives he testified against, The Daily Telegraph understands.

By Mark Hughes, in New York

6:30AM BST 20 Apr 2012

Saajid Muhammad Badat testified on Thursday night against Adis Medunjanin, who is suspected of plotting to blow up trains on the New York subway in an attack similar to the July 7 bombings.

Badat, an associate of the shoe bomber Richard Reid, gave evidence in a video recording played in court in public.

His involvement in the trial only became known this week, and forced the Crown Prosecution Service to admit he had given evidence in other terror trials and was rewarded with a two-year reduction in his 13-year sentence.

Now The Daily Telegraph has learnt that the Metropolitan Police tried to keep further details of his testimony secret.

Detectives from Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism unit sought to have sections of Badat’s evidence censored and tried to have images, including court sketches, banned from publication.
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Officers feared that having such details made public could endanger Badat, who is out of prison and believed to be living in Gloucester.

It is thought that Badat, who was jailed in 2005 over his part in a conspiracy to blow up a plane, has testified in as many as 18 criminal trials.

The Met fears that Badat’s evidence in New York will make it clear against whom he has testified previously. It is understood that the US court denied Scotland Yard’s requests.

Badat’s evidence is believed to shed light on the process of al-Qaeda training. Badat was tutored in Pakistan before his planned attack on a US-bound flight from Amsterdam, from which he pulled out.

Reid went ahead with the plot in 2001 on a Paris to Miami flight, but his shoe bomb failed to detonate.

Badat is not thought to have met Medunjanin or his alleged accomplices, Najibullah Zazi and Zarein Ahmedzay.

Zazi and Ahmedzay have pleaded guilty to their parts in the plot and both testified against Medunjanin this week.

The court has heard that both may have their sentences reduced for giving evidence.


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[Mark Gobell]

Empty evidence from al-Qaeda supergrass

A British terrorist terrorist who was given a reduced prison sentence in return for giving evidence in a US terror trial has never even heard of the man he is testifying against but has met Osama bin Laden on more than one occasion, it has been disclosed.

Saajid Muhammad Badat is to giving evidence in the US trial of a man accused of plotting to bomb New York's subway; Metropolitan police hand out of Badat in 2005 Photo: Jane Rosenberg/PA

By Mark Hughes, in New York

7:00AM BST 20 Apr 2012

Saajid Muhammad Badat was convicted of planning to blow up a transatlantic airline in 2005 in a plot which also resulted in the jailing of Richard Reid, the “shoe bomber”.

Badat was released from prison in the UK in March 2010 after having two years taken off his sentence for agreeing to turn “supergrass” against other al-Qaeda terrorists.

Details of the secret deal were made public only after his involvement in the trial of Adis Medunjanin, a suspected terrorist accused of plotting a suicide bomb attack on the New York subway, was revealed earlier this week.

On Thursday, a short extract of video evidence was played to the US Federal Court in Brooklyn in which Badat disclosed that he did not know who Medunjanin was, raising further questions about whether his testimony was crucial enough to warrant his early release.

Prosecutors believe Badat’s co-operation is useful because of his apparent strong links with the al-Qaeda leadership.

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On Thursday it was disclosed that he met Osama bin Laden on more than one occasion. Badat was charged in 2003 with conspiracy to destroy an aircraft after he plotted to detonate a bomb on a transatlantic flight from Amsterdam.

He explained that he had run errands for bin Laden while in Afghanistan between 1999 and 2001 when he was aged just 19 and had “direct personal interactions” with the terror chief.

Asked why he was in Afghanistan, Badat replied: “In order to acquire military training for a jihad, a violent jihad….to fight with the oppressors of Muslims.”

He explained that he had attended training camps Kabul, Jalalabad and Kandahar where he learned to operate weapons including machine guns and rocket propelled grenades.

In the video Badat wore a grey suit, white shirt and blue tie. But his appearance has altered dramatically since his arrest in 2003. He has trimmed his long beard, no longer wears glasses and is bald.

He is currently believed to be living in Gloucester and police fear his public testimony in the US could put Badat in danger.

Badat was told in the video that if he does not tell the truth in his testimony he will face further charges in the UK and US.

Badat pleaded guilty in the UK and was also charged in the US, but has only been convicted in Britain.

Scotland Yard tried to suppress his evidence to the US over concerns that he could be in danger from any al-Qaeda operatives he testified against.

His evidence is scheduled to continue on Monday.



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[Mark Gobell]

Supergrass deals let 150 criminals walk free in secret

More than 150 criminals, potentially including terrorists, have been secretly given immunity from prosecution or discounted sentences for becoming supergrasses.

By Tom Whitehead, Security Editor

6:30AM BST 18 Apr 2012

A total of 158 people have been given deals in the past six years, but the Crown Prosecution Service yesterday refused to disclose how many related to terrorists.

It follows the revelation that convicted terrorist Saajid Badat was quietly released from prison two years ago after his prison term was cut from 13 to 11 years after becoming an al-Qaeda informant.

A court order that barred even reporting the existence of the hearing meant the public never knew Badat, who plotted to blow up a plane with a shoe bomb, had been released early.

A senior MP called for prosecutors and police to come clean on the scale of the supergrass deals, insisting they should be “very rare”.

Badat, who was the accomplice of shoebomber Richard Reid, was released from prison in March 2010 after a deal was struck in a private court hearing the previous November.
Related Articles

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16 Apr 2012

Empty evidence from al-Qaeda supergrass
20 Apr 2012

Shoe bomber pleads guilty
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Police fear for safety of al-Qaeda turncoat
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Terrorist supergrass Saajid Badat: the shoe bomber who got cold feet
17 Apr 2012

It emerged he had been providing information to police and security service since his own arrest in 2003.

However, the court went to great lengths to keep the deal a secret for his own safety.

It only became public because evidence he has provided for a trial which began in New York this week will be heard in open court.

The deal was regulated by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 which provides for a range of options for people who turn evidence, including full immunity from prosecution to a reduction in their sentence.

Figures released to MPs show that since the act came in to force some 158 criminals or terrorists have been granted such deals.

Seven of them avoided prosecution altogether while 11 had partial immunity, such are restrictions on what evidence was used against them.

Another 140 had their sentences reduced as a result of information they provided.

Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said he was “very surprised” by the Badat decision.

He added: “Reduction of sentences for those involved in such activities should happen very rarely because it sends out a message that deals can always be done.

“We need a full explanation as to the reasoning behind this decision and an indication

as to how many other times this kind of deal has been done.”

Badat, 33, from Gloucester, had planned to blow up a US – bound flight from Amsterdam at Christmas 2001 but aborted his attack at the last minute.

He was jailed in 2005 after the Old Bailey heard he could not face being a "courier of death". He kept his dismantled device at his family home for two years before his arrest in 2003.

Reid tried to ignite his shoe bomb on a flight from Paris to Miami on Dec 22, 2001 but was overpowered and later jailed for life in the US.

A transcript of Badat’s secret deal hearing, released for the first time on Monday, showed he had provided information to the police and security services on up to 18 terrorist plots over a six – year period.

It became public because some of his evidence will be used during the ongoing US trail of Adis Medunjanin who is accused of plotting a 7/7 style attack on the New York subway.

A CPS spokesman said: “It would be inappropriate to discuss publicly detail of SOCPA agreements as there are very real risks to the safety of some of those who have signed the agreements to provide intelligence or evidence against their allegedly criminal acquaintances.

"Therefore, the CPS will provide updated figures each year on the agreements, in a way that we are satisfied does not put any individual at risk of harm.

“The CPS is absolutely committed to openness and transparency where we are satisfied the information released given does not put individuals at risk of harm, nor undermine the administration of justice.”




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[Mark Gobell]

Will Saajid Badat's case mark the return of the supergrass?

Prosecutors know using an informer is risky so they will watch closely what happens when Badat gives evidence in the US

Duncan Campbell
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 17 April 2012 17.51 BST
Article history

Saajid Muhammad Badat

Shoe-bomber Saajid Badat's evidence against other alleged terrorists in a US trial will be seen as test of whether 'supergrass' system can work. Photograph: Metropolitan police/PA

The decision to do a deal with a man who had plotted to blow up an airliner with a shoe bomb is a high-risk strategy for British prosecutors. Deals with supergrasses can too often end in tears but the calculation may well be that, on this occasion, it is worth the risk.

It has only just emerged that Saajid Muhammad Badat, who was jailed in 2005 for being part of a conspiracy to blow up a plane, had his sentence reduced from 13 to 11 years in exchange for giving evidence against other alleged terrorists in the United States. This represents a change in strategy for the Crown Prosecution Service but one that its head of counter-terrorism, Sue Hemming, clearly feels is worth the risk. As a result of it, Badat will give evidence in a trial that opens in the US next week, in which the defendant, Adis Medunjanin, is accused of an al-Qaida plot.

This is the first time a terrorist convicted in the UK has agreed to give evidence abroad against his alleged former associates. "Badat has helped with investigations in this country," said Hemming. "He continues to co-operate and has agreed to testify in other trials if called upon."

What is intriguing about the deal is that Badat has agreed to give evidence for such a small discount in his sentence. A couple of years off a 13-year term seems a small reward for bearing witness in an alleged "martyrdom" case, because to do so puts Badat at risk for the rest of his life. He will need to be protected for ever from any reprisals aimed at him by the unforgiving al-Qaida.

The risk for the prosecution service is of a different nature. If Badat's evidence helps to secure a conviction, it could well encourage others in British jails for terrorist offences to follow the same path. Many of those who are serving much longer sentences than Badat's – he received a shorter term because he pulled out of the plot and pleaded guilty – may now be wondering whether all the heady promises of martyrdom are worth the decades of boredom in a British jail. But if Badat's testimony cuts little ice in court, it could, once again, serve to discredit the supergrass system.

It is 40 years now since the British justice system discovered what, at the time, seemed to be the intoxicating benefits of the supergrass. In 1972, a north London armed robber called Bertie Smalls was granted immunity from prosecution by the director of public prosecutions, in exchange for giving evidence against 27 of his former associates, who were duly jailed for a total of 315 years. In the years following this prime example of what became known as "talk and walk", dozens of other villains felt free to break the old criminal eleventh commandment of "thou shalt not grass".

The system spread to Northern Ireland, at that time in the midst of the Troubles, where again it seemed to solve the problems of breaking down the walls of silence surrounding the paramilitary groups on both sides of the divide. The IRA supergrass Christopher Black helped to jail 22 of his former associates and, until the mid-1980s, it was a major tool in the prosecutor's kit. But the system fell into disrepute and dozens of defendants who had been convicted on the word of "paid perjurors", as they became known, were released. It had become all too clear that some supergrasses were using the trials to settle old grudges or simply as get-out-of-jail-free cards.

The supergrass did not reappear in terrorist trials in Northern Ireland until a few months ago, when two loyalist paramilitaries, Ian and Robert Stewart, gave evidence against 13 defendants in a trial in Belfast. Only one of the 13 was convicted in February after the trial judge had dismissed the Stewart brothers' evidence as "infected with lies". The collapse of the case, following a 21-week trial, dealt a heavy blow to the notion that the word of a former terrorist can be believed when he is giving evidence against his old comrades.

Prosecutors on both sides of the Atlantic will be watching with interest how Badat performs. He is an intelligent young man, a Gloucester grammar schoolboy, who looked set for a university career before he took the al-Qaida route. What happens to him and his evidence could either help to reinstate the supergrass system in terrorist cases or relegate it once again to the judicial sidelines.

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And saying no to the deal puts him at risk anyway, once it becomes known that he received a reduced sentence in the first place.

[TonyGosling]

CPS and MI5 - the devil indeed

Deal with the devil: Shoe bomber freed from jail after turning supergrass against terror suspects
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/shoe-bomber-saajid-badat-freed-79 7097
His 13-year sentence was cut to 11 after he made an unprecedented deal with UK authorities to become a supergrass against al-Qaeda
Shoe bomber Saajid Badat has been freed early after agreeing to give evidence against terror suspects facing trial in the US.
His 13-year sentence was cut to 11 after he made an unprecedented deal with UK authorities to become a supergrass against al-Qaeda.
It means he will spend the rest of his life as a marked man – a target of hate for his former terrorist colleagues.
Badat, 33, was jailed in 2005 after he admitted plotting to explode a shoe bomb on a transatlantic flight in December 2001.
He had hatched the plan with fellow shoebomber Richard Reid, 49, but changed his mind at the last minute and refused to go through with it.

Shoe bomber Saajid Badat has jail sentence cut
Wesley Johnson - Monday 16 April 2012
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Osborne, the senior national co-ordinator for counter terrorism said: "This case is an example where the Socpa (Serious and Organised Crime and Police Act 2005) legislation has secured substantial and significant evidence and intelligence relating to investigations undertaken by the counter terrorism command which has also assisted law enforcement agencies in other countries."
Badat's sentence was reduced to 11 years on November 13 2009, but an order banning reporting of the deal was put in place, for Badat's safety, until he was due to give evidence in public, the CPS said. It has now been lifted.
When Badat was jailed in April 2005, a judge said he had to be given credit for turning his back on terrorism.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/shoe-bomber-saajid-badat-ha s-jail-sentence-cut-7647927.html

[scienceplease 2]