Manfo Asiedu, a key figure in the failed 2005 London bomb plot, has reportedly been released from prison after serving just 16 years of his 33-year sentence. Asiedu, 53, has been deported to Ghana following his release.
Asiedu was part of a group that attempted to detonate explosives on London’s transport network on July 21, 2005, just two weeks after the deadly 7/7 attacks that killed 52 people. The plot failed due to miscalculations in the bomb ingredients, and Asiedu was arrested and subsequently sentenced in 2007 for his role in the attempted attack.
During his trial, Asiedu turned against his co-defendants, discrediting their defence that the attack was merely a hoax. He tried to portray himself as an innocent victim caught up in their plans, claiming he thought the devices were fake until the night before the attack.
Asiedu, who also went by the name Sumailia Abubakhari, provided inconsistent background information during the trial, claiming to be the son of a Muslim father who owns a pharmacy and construction company and a Christian businesswoman mother.
Four other men involved in the failed 2005 plot—Muktar Said Ibrahim, Ramzi Mohammed, Yassin Omar, and Hussain Osman—were found guilty and received minimum sentences of 40 years in prison.
Asiedu is believed to have agreed to deportation under the Facilitated Returns Scheme, a program intended to expedite the return of foreign national prisoners to their home countries. Reports from 2007 indicated that Asiedu “may serve only half the term his accomplices were given,” a possibility that has now become a reality with his release.
The decision to release Asiedu early has been met with criticism and concern, with many questioning the risks associated with allowing a convicted terrorist to serve only half of his original sentence.
