Ethiopian woman convicted in boyfriend’s bomb plot in London

(AP) LONDON — The partner of a would-be suicide bomber who attempted to attack London’s subway system was convicted Wednesday for not warning police about the plot.

A jury in London found 32-year-old Yeshi Girma guilty of failing to provide information before her partner Hussain Osman and others attempted to set off explosions on the transit system on July 21, 2005. The bombs didn’t explode fully and no one was injured.

The attempted attacks came two weeks after four suicide bombers killed 52 subway and bus passengers in London.

Mulu Girma, 24, and Esayas Girma, 22, Yeshi’s sister and brother, were also both found guilty of failing to disclose information and helping Osman.

Mulu Girma’s boyfriend Mohamed Kabashi, 25, pleaded guilty to both charges before the trial.

A date for sentencing was not set immediately. The maximum sentence for failing to inform police is five years.

Yeshi Girma, who wept as the verdict was announced, had claimed that she was not married to Osman, with whom she had three children, that she didn’t live with him, and knew little of what he was doing. Prosecutors say she is his wife.

They said she helped Osman flee the country after the attempt, and that her fingerprints had been found on tapes of extremist Islamic sermons. She allegedly also allowed Osman to take their young son to a training camp in northwestern England where he met others involved in the plot.

“Yeshi Girma had prior knowledge of the events of 21/7. She had some information about what the bombers intended to do on 21/7, but failed to bring this to the attention of the police,” prosecutor Max Hill told jurors.

“Armed with that prior knowledge of what was going to happen, Yeshi Girma could have attempted to prevent the attacks, which, but for shortcomings in the production of the explosive devices, would have killed and injured many people,” he said.

Osman was sentenced to life in prison in the case along with Muktar Said Ibrahim, Yassin Omar and Ramzi Mohammed. Another plotter, Manfo Kwaku Asiedu, was sentenced to 33 years in prison.

Five other men were also convicted and sentenced to prison for assisting the plotters.