Muhsin Ghailan allegedly paid 1,250 in cash to rent it for six months and asked for a 10-foot stone wall to be built around it. He said it would be used to accommodate British Muslims who wanted to study Arabic. A lawyer who drew up the rental contract said Ghailan, Harhara and the Algerian visited his office in early December. Neighbours identified Abu Hamza's son, Mustapha Kamil, as being in a rented Daewoo which shuttled to and from the villa. Hours after his arrest police drove Ghailan around Aden until he identified the villa.
Police say the villa contained Yemeni army uniforms.
They say Ghailan also rented a house in Sana'a. The Britons allegedly went to Yemen at the behest of Abu Hamza, where they made contact with Abu al-Hassan. Four days after the Britons were arrested, Abu al-Hassan and his supporters kidnapped 16 mainly British tourists in Abyan, in the hope of exchanging his hostages for the arrested men. Some of the alleged links rely on the confessions of those arrested, which have since been withdrawn because, it is claimed, they were obtained through torture. Abu Hamza admits discussing the kidnapping with Abu al-Hassan by satellite phone, barely an hour after it took place.