TERRORISM TRIAL: Defendent was planning marriage (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

TERRORISM TRIAL: Defendent was planning marriage

8:49am Tuesday 1st July 2008 in

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ONE of the defendents accused of trying to blow up transatlantic airliners was planning to get married, a court heard.

Arafat Waheed Khan, 27, of Farnan Avenue, Walthamstow, is accused of planning to become a suicide bomber but his fiance told a court she was expecting to marrying him.

The couple were preparing for a traditional wedding in Pakistan and London at the time of his arrest, in August 2006, Ammara Chaudhry told Woolwich Crown Court.

Ms Chaudhry, also 27, from west London, said an engagement party was held days before her fiance's arrest by counter-terrorism officers in August 2006.

When asked if she knew of his alleged intention to become an Islamic martyr, she replied: "Arafat would never commit such an act."

She said a "martyrdom video" recorded by him, which threatened violence against the West, was "unbelievable".

"That allegation is something we cannot find believable. Not at all. I was actually shocked. I do not agree with it," she said.

Miss Chaudhry descirbed how she met the defendent at the University of North London in 2000.

She described him as an emotional and loving man who lavished her with attention and gifts.

"Arafat would make any Valentine's Day or my birthday special for me."

"I knew he loved me and I loved him. He bought me lots of stuff, teddy bears, perfume, clothes, purses..."

He was introduced to her parents in the summer of 2006, a wedding date was set for April 2007 and money was set aside.

She also said Mr Khan was not a strict Muslim as he drank alcohol, smoked cannabis and had been in trouble with the police.

Mr Khan is accused of plotting to smuggle DIY bombs, disguised as soft drinks on to planes bound for North America.

He and seven others deny conspiring to murder and conspiring to endanger aircraft.

Mr Khan was arrested on August 10 while his future father-in-law was in Pakistan. Miss Chaudhry said she did not tell her father on the phone because she was worried about his heart condition.

Earlier, Mohammed Khan, a cousin of the defendant, said in a written statement that Arafat Khan visited him in Pakistan between October 2005 and January 2006.

He said: "He told me he had met a young woman called Ammara and hoped to marry and start a family once he had a home and financial security."

Tanvir Hussain, 27, of Nottingham Road, Leyton, Ibrahim Savant, 27, of Folkestone Road, Walthamstow, Waheed Zaman, 23, of Queen's Road, Walthamstow, and Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 27, of Prospect Hill, Walthamstow, are among the eight men accused.

Also charged are Mohammed Gulzar, 26, of Barking, Assad Sarwar, 24, of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire and Umar Islam, 29, of Plaistow.

The trial continues.