'Weeks' before al-Qaeda judgement

Judgement has been reserved in a case involving a man with suspected al-Qaeda links alleged to have downloaded information on how to blow up a plane.

Abbas Boutrab, 27, denies possessing 25 computer discs containing instructions on bomb-making downloaded from the web.

Belfast Crown Court judge Mr Justice Weatherup said it would take him "some weeks" to prepare and give his written verdict on the case.

His defence claimed Mr Boutrab only viewed the material "out of curiosity".

They claimed that the "evidence, taken as a whole, is weak evidence".

Mr Boutrab, who has been charged under three different aliases, has an address at Whitehouse on the Shore Road in Belfast.

The prosecution claim that between October 2002 and April 2003, he downloaded details of how to construct a bomb capable of downing a plane and how to make a silencer for an assault rifle.

Mr Boutrab denies possessing and collecting information "for a purpose connected with the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism". He also denies handling a stolen mobile phone.

The defence also contends that because "every procedure in the book" was breached by police and MI5 in handling the computer discs and other material, no properly directed jury could convict Mr Boutrab.

'Travelling around Europe'

The prosecution claimed that Mr Boutrab had been travelling around Europe for a decade, including Holland and the Irish Republic, where he allegedly applied for asylum.

They said he had used several false identities, in order "to conceal himself as he carried out his sinister activities".

The court was told that during 30 police interviews, Mr Boutrab refused to deny that he was involved in terrorism or was part of an al-Qaeda network.

Initially when asked whether he was involved in terrorism, Mr Boutrab told detectives, "I am not answering that" and gave a "similar reply" when questioned about being a member of an al-Qaeda network.

At one stage, his solicitor stated: "He has asked me to say in relation to the aliases, some of which he accepts, that they were used simply to facilitate his drifter lifestyle throughout Europe - not for terrorist purposes."

Mr Justice Weatherup also heard that the computer discs contained details on how to construct and smuggle a bomb onto an aircraft.

'Not disproved'

However, the defence claimed that Mr Boutrab's case that he downloaded the material out of curiosity had not been disproved by the prosecution.

They argued that the court could not be satisfied on any of the three grounds that Mr Boutrab had the material for "the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism".

The defence also pointed to the lack of any evidence linking Mr Boutrab to any bomb, whether capable of downing an aircraft or not.

They said explosives were never found in his flat, nor was there any suggestion that he had attempted to "source" any explosives or that he was in contact with others who could source the materials.

Regarding the construction of the silencer, the defence again argued that the prosecution had failed to show Mr Boutrab wanted to make such a device himself.

They also claimed that the court had to be satisfied Mr Boutrab had the details for this very reason or had them to pass on to others or to incite others.

The defence said it was "an all duck or no dinner case", and said that the prosecution, with its compromised forensic evidence, had failed to disprove that Mr Boutrab had collected the information out of curiosity and not for terrorist purposes.