Suspects 'joked about martyrdom'

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A doctor accused of planning terror attacks said his co-accused joked about "martyrdom" and was "sympathetic" to insurgents in Iraq, a court has heard.

The jury was shown Dr Mohammed Asha making the comments in taped police interviews the day after an attempted car bombing on Glasgow airport in 2007.

In the videos, Dr Asha said Dr Bilal Abdulla was "very, very sympathetic with what is going on in Iraq".

Dr Asha, 28, and Dr Bilal Abdulla, 29, both deny conspiracy to murder.

'Playful'

They have also pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to cause explosions.

London's Woolwich Crown Court was shown video tapes of four police interviews in which Dr Asha repeatedly said he knew nothing of the attempted bombing of London's West End and Glasgow airport.

But he did admit that Dr Abdulla, from Paisley, had been to his home in Newcastle-under-Lyme on several occasions with another man, Indian PhD student, Kafeel Ahmed.

He's always, always talked about Iraq and martyrdom Dr Mohammed Asha

Dr Asha said that on these visits Dr Abdulla and Mr Ahmed discussed martyrdom, but in a way that was "very, very playful".

A detective asked: "Did he say to you that he wanted to commit martyrdom?" Dr Asha replied: "Yes."

The Jordanian doctor told detectives: "He hasn't mentioned anything specific but he's always, always talked about Iraq and martyrdom."

But Dr Asha said there was no mention of targets and he did not believe his friend was actually planning an attack, the court heard.

'Absolute truth'

He told detectives he arrived in Britain with nothing, established a family, home and career, and "wouldn't lose this for the world, for anything at all".

He added: "This is the absolute truth. The only thing that I'm hoping is once you make sure that this is the truth is for me to pursue my normal life."

The court was told the interviews took place before he was offered the chance to speak to a solicitor.

His barrister Stephen Kamlish QC accused detectives of denying Dr Asha his rights.

Severe burns

The jury heard that once he had taken legal advice, Dr Asha was interviewed a further four times over 10 days but did not answer any more questions.

Dr Asha, who worked at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, was arrested on the M6 on 30 June last year.

Several hours earlier a Jeep laden with gas canisters and petrol was driven into Glasgow Airport's main terminal building.

Mr Ahmed, the PhD student, was at the wheel and died several weeks later from severe burns.

The jury has been told that Dr Abdulla was in the passenger seat, threw petrol bombs and fought with police.