Hassan Assali
Hassan Assali, who was born in Libya but came to live in Britain in 1965, was accused in 1983 of constructing electronic timers in contravention of the 1883 Explosives Substances Act for the sole purpose of triggering time bombs. At his trial, the Crown’s sole scientific witness – Alan Feraday – testified:
- "I am unable to contemplate their use in other than terrorist bombs.”
On 24 May 1985, Hassan Assali was convicted on this scientific basis and sentenced to a middling term. His appeal against conviction was rejected in 1986, and he served nearly seven years before being granted early release in 1992. While free, he remained legally guilty like John Berry.[1]
Conviction overturned
Hassan Assali applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission in 1998 to review his case and, following a second appeal that started on 11 December 2003 when other electronics experts disputed the trial evidence given by Feraday, Assali's conviction was quashed on 19 December 2005.[2][3]
