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I'm a victim too says the widow of 7/7 bomber, in legal aid claim that could delay inquest
The widow of a July 7 suicide bomber yesterday launched a High Court bid to be represented at the victims inquest - saying she had also suffered the loss of a loved one in the atrocity.Hasina Patel, whose husband was terrorist mastermind Mohammad Sidique Khan, is seeking legal aid to challenge the coroners decision to exclude Khans death from the hearing for the 52 victims of the 2005 London bombings. If the mother of ones application is granted, Octobers long-awaited inquest could be delayed by months of legal wrangling, to the distress of those who have waited more than five years for it to take place. Lawyers for Miss Patel claim there should be no material distinction between her and the families of those killed, because she equally suffered the loss of a relative. But the move will anger bereaved families, who do not want the deaths of the terrorists included in the same inquest as the 52 innocents whose lives they took. Miss Patel hopes to overturn the decision made by Lady Justice Hallett in May to hold a separate hearing into the deaths of the four bombers - Mohammad Sidique Khan, 30, Shehzad Tanweer, 22, Hasib Hussain, 18, and Jermaine Lindsay, 19. The Government has already agreed to give legal aid to the families of the 52 victims. But Miss Patels request for equal funding was refused in May this year. Posted by: tipper 2010-08-26 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=304211 |