9/11 mastermind could be freed in days despite confession
He was jailed in 2015 in the US for 20 years having admitted trying to start a terrorist training camp in Oregon. Aswat was visited by a British psychiatrist in America before he was deported back to Britain in 2022 where he declared: 'I'm a terrorist.' Now newly surfaced US court documents show Aswat also confessed to being a 'mastermind behind the [9/11] attacks and a 2005 attack in the UK', The Sun has reported.
In addition to his connection to the 7/7 London terror bombings, which killed 52 people, Aswat has also threatened to kill Jews, Christians and certain groups of Muslims. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said he feared Aswat's return to the streets of Britain and said: 'He should never experience freedom again.' Despite officials admitting their concern and the High Court's Mr Justice Robert Jay previously saying there was 'evidence of an ongoing risk', Aswat will only be subject to a notification order upon his release.
It means Aswat must continually notify the police about certain information and keep them up-to-date. These details include his address, foreign travel details and vehicle registration. Earlier this year Mr Justice Jay concluded: 'These were very serious offences and there is evidence of ongoing risk. A risk assessment in relation to terrorist offending is always inherently uncertain and in the present case is compounded by the mental instability of the defendant. Overall, I am satisfied for the reasons that I have given that a notification order should be made in all the circumstances of this case. A psychiatrist has deemed his treatment as being effective and his release from detention is expected in the relatively near future, with the understanding being that he will return to his family in Yorkshire.'
He added: 'No formal terrorist risk assessment has been carried out since the defendant's return here. The circumstances of his detention have precluded that. However, on the basis of the material which is available the defendant has been assessed by various police officers — including the senior officer dealing with this case — that he remains a risk to national security.' A document from the US District Court, which has been released for the first time, described Aswat as a terrorist and foot soldier of al-Qaeda, and revealed he openly admitted to his involvement in terrorist activities. 'In March 2017 the defendant stated, 'if you think I am a terrorist, I don't shy away from my responsibility' and also stated he was a mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks and a 2005 terrorist attack in the UK.'
The papers show that Aswat revealed his associations with Osama bin Laden (pictured) and that he had spent time training in al-Queda camps in Afghanistan just months before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which claimed more than 3,000 lives. His name was also found on a ledger discovered in a house in Pakistan where Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the 'architect' of 9/11, had been staying. Other activities included helping hate preacher Abu Hamza establish a US terror camp in 1999, staying at a house in Pakistan in 2002 - where he met two of the 7/7 bombers - and possessing a terror manual and alleged bomb materials.
Police also traced 20 calls made by the 7/7 bombers to a phone connected to Aswat. Det Chief Supt Gareth Rees, head of operations for the Met's SO15 Counter Terrorism Command, said of Aswat in a witness statement: 'Based on my experience, this is conduct which gives me grave concerns about the risk which the defendant poses to the UK's national security and to the public.' A report compiled by Dr Richard Taylor, who travelled to America in the summer of 2022, found Aswat still posed a risk to the public. The report states that in 2017 Aswat made remarks to prison staff in support of Al Qaeda and threatened violence towards them. In 2022 he sent letters which made demands and death threats, seemingly motivated by a terrorist ideology. Dr Taylor concluded that he openly endorsed an extremist ideology, but there was no evidence that Aswat was mentally ill.
However he had had limited opportunity to address the extremist mindset and showed traits of glibness, superficial charm, charisma, intelligence and elements of manipulativeness and narcissism. Even when mentally stable he continued to express violent, extremist Islamic ideology, Dr Taylor found. The diagnosis showed a schizoaffective disorder with symptoms showing unpredictable and aggressive behaviour. Dr Taylor did not complete a full terrorist risk assessment, but identified 15 of the 22 relevant factors in the government's extreme risk guidance. He concluded: 'There remains the risk of Islamic violent extremism motivated targeted terrorist offending behaviour given his threats to kill Jews, Christians and certain groups of Muslims. There is also a risk of him influencing other vulnerable individuals, as when he is in an abnormal mental state his religious extremist rhetoric is amplified by mental illness.'
A senior police officer, Detective Inspector Karen Bradley, who was involved in the case, concluded that Aswat remains a risk to national security. Aswat was born and grew up in Yorkshire but moved to Wood Green in north London where he fell under the spell of hate preacher Abu Hamza - and together they planned a terror training camp in Oregon with Aswat moving to Seattle to organise it. He also spent time in Afghanistan and in Pakistan - where he met and associated with fellow Yorkshire terror sympathiser Mohammed Sidique Khan and his accomplice Shehzad Tanweer.
They would go on to carry out the deadly 7/7 bombings in London which killed 52 people on underground trains and a bus in July 2005. Aswat served most of his sentence in America and was deported back to the UK in December 2022. He is currently detained at Bethlem Royal Hospital in Bromley, south east London.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
Senior judges reveal regret at handing out ‘unfair' indefinite jail terms and call for scandal to be ‘put right'
Senior judges who imposed 'unfair' indefinite jail terms, which have left scores of inmates locked up for minor offences languishing in prison for decades, have revealed their regret for their part in the 'injustice'. Former High Court judge Sir John Saunders said he would apologise to offenders he handed imprisonment for public protection (IPP) jail terms, which were scrapped in 2012, but not retrospectively, leaving thousands already jailed incarcerated with no release date. Now the very judges who dished out the punishment have joined calls for the government to take urgent action to help more than 2,500 prisoners still trapped under the abolished jail term, which has been branded 'psychological torture' by the UN. Victims of the scandal, whose tragic cases have been highlighted by The Independent, include Leroy Douglas, who has served almost 20 years for stealing a mobile phone; Thomas White, 42, who set himself alight in his cell and has served 13 years for stealing a phone; and Abdullahi Suleman, 41, who is still inside 19 years after he was jailed for a laptop robbery. Sir John, 76, who served as recorder of Birmingham before he was appointed to the High Court, told The Independent that if he met an IPP prisoner he had jailed who was years over tariff, he would apologise. 'I should say I'm really sorry this has happened, it's extremely unfair,' he said. 'I didn't want to be party to unfairness. I would feel very bad about it, I would apologise to them.' He said that when the sentence was introduced in 2005 by New Labour in a bid to be tough on crime, it appeared there was a 'certain degree of sense' to plans to ensure offenders completed rehabilitation courses before they were approved for release by the Parole Board. But judges had no idea those prisoners would find themselves trapped in prison indefinitely, often without access to the courses they needed to be released. He added: 'I think the essence of the job of a judge is to be fair. And we really do all try to do that. So when we conduct criminal trials, we attempt to be fair. In passing sentences, we attempt to be fair. 'If we have been party to something which has been accepted by everybody as unfair and we have been part of it… it's a bit of an affront to the job.' He and Simon Tonking, the former recorder of Stafford, have lobbied prisons minister Lord James Timpson to help those still trapped under the jail term. Both have backed a package of proposals put forward by an expert panel convened by the Howard League for Penal Reform, calling for IPP prisoners to be given a release date within a two-year window at their next parole hearing. Mr Tonking recalled imposing an IPP sentence with a minimum tariff of just six months for a relatively minor offence after a man was caught following a woman in an alley. 'Now I wonder what happened to him,' he told The Independent. 'He was in his late twenties. For all I know, he may still be there [in prison]. 'And when I look back at that case, I think I should have tried harder not to impose it.' Although he was doing his best to administer the laws in place at the time, he is now determined to be part of the solution. 'I don't feel guilty, but I do feel, having been part of that, I should be doing all I can to put what has turned out to be an injustice right,' he added. 'And I am driven in part by the fact that I was part of the administration of justice at a time when these sentences were being passed. 'I have been a part of the system that is wrong. I feel that I ought to be part of the system to put it right.' Successive governments have resisted calls to resentence IPP prisoners, claiming they cannot risk letting prisoners out until they have passed the Parole Board's release test. However, at least 94 inmates have taken their own lives in custody after losing hope of being freed, according to campaigners, with many struggling as their mental health deteriorates in prison. Mr Tonking urged the Labour government to use its majority to finally end the injustice by taking up the Howard League's proposals, adding: 'Virtually everybody who has had any professional dealings with IPP knows that it's unjust and now is the time to act.' The proposed reforms also include providing a package of mental health support for released IPP prisoners and tightening up the criteria for recalling them. Currently, many find themselves hauled back to prison indefinitely for minor breaches of strict licence conditions, despite committing no further offences. Paul Glenn, who last year retired from his role as the most senior judge in Stoke-on-Trent, also backed the charity's proposals. He told The Independent: 'Nobody envisaged that 10 years after they should have been released, they would still be in custody. The injustice there is pretty obvious. 'It's undoubtedly right that we should be sentencing people for what they have done, rather than what they might do in the future.' Prisons minister Lord Timpson said: 'It is absolutely right that the IPP sentence was abolished. 'As the IPP annual report shows, we have significantly improved support for these offenders, with greater access to rehabilitation and mental health support. 'There is more work to do as we reduce the number of IPP offenders in custody, but we will only do so in a way that protects the public.'
Telegraph
25 minutes ago
- Telegraph
There's one union which doesn't stand by the profession which belongs to it
What is the point of a union if it does not stand up for the interests of its members? Say what you will about the antics of Aslef and the RMT – as The Telegraph has frequently pointed out, their industrial action has inflicted misery on millions of commuters who have to endure delays and cancellations on commuter trains and the London Underground – but their exorbitant demands on pay and conditions have clearly been to the benefit of train and Tube staff. The National Education Union (NEU), led by the avowed Marxist Daniel Kebede, has had a rather poorer record in defending some in the teaching profession. A teacher at Preston College in Lancashire posted on Facebook to say that Lucy Connolly was 'obviously wrong' to say what she had on the platform in the aftermath of last summer's Southport murders, and that the comments were 'appalling' but that she 'should not have been jailed' for them. A representative of the NEU at Preston College then made a formal complaint to the college, saying that the teacher's own posts were 'Islamophobic' and 'racially discriminatory'. After an investigation, the college dismissed the teacher for violating its policies, although this is now being challenged in the courts. The NEU did the very opposite of sticking up for a member of the profession. In this regard, it is a serial offender. The union has more than 34,000 members working in independent schools. Labour's imposition of VAT on school fees clearly goes directly against these members' interests. Some will lose their jobs as schools are no longer economically viable and close. Many more will see their conditions of employment not improve and pensions worsen as schools try to cut costs to balance their budgets and ameliorate the impact of the tax hike on parents. But the NEU did not campaign against the move, saying that they could 'best use their influence behind the scenes'. Ideology seemingly trumps members' interests. Teachers deserve better.
Daily Mail
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Woman, 31, who mugged her pensioner partner in broad daylight before threatening to 'knock the jaw off' a good Samaritan is jailed
A woman who mugged her elderly boyfriend in broad daylight before threatening to 'knock the jaw off' a Good Samaritan has been jailed. Katie Bland, 31, from Greetland, Halifax, was in a relationship with a man in his 70s who she would often abuse and demand money from. On January 6, the gentleman left after an argument but was met with a barrage of abusive calls from Bland asking for money, Bradford Crown Court was told. At around 4pm, she found out he was at a bus station in Halifax and travelled to him where she continued her abusive onslaught, calling him a racist word and a 'dirty dog'. Moments later, she grabbed him by the collar of his coat and threw him around as she demanded cash. The pensioner offered Bland £20 but instead she wanted his bank card and became aggressive when he refused to hand it over. He offered to go to the cash point with her to withdraw money, however, she became violent on the way and started kicking him in the leg and screaming at him. A woman who witness the attack tried to intervene but Bland then turned on her, grabbing her by her scarf and telling her she would 'knock her jaw off' if she 'didn't shut the f**k up'. She then carried on assaulting the elderly man and managed to withdraw £40 from his bank account before police officers turned up. Bland was arrested and, despite responding with 'no comment' to all questions, later pleaded guilty to robbery, assault by beating, fraud and blackmail. In his witness statement, the elderly gentleman said he has 'never been so depressed or worried' throughout his entire existence as he was during his relationship with Bland. His statement, read out by prosecutor Nathan Davis, said: 'I wake up and don't know how she is going to be. I get abused daily. 'I lost all of my friends for my relationship. My friends have told me what she is like and asks for money to buy drugs. 'Her behaviour is the last weeks has become worse. It has affected me to the point I want to give up with life. 'I never want to come home due to the mess she has left in my house.' The court heard that Bland, who participated via video connection from HMP New Hall, possessed prior criminal convictions and was serving under a suspended sentence for a separate robbery when she carried out the offences for which she faced sentencing on Friday. In mitigation, Shila Whitehead explained: 'What she tells me is she has been in custody since January. She said she is aware her behaviour towards him was unacceptable and she is willing to accept help. She accepts at the time of committing these offences she was using drugs and was heavily dependant on them. 'During the time she has been in prison she tells me that she has undertaken a number of courses which has helped her. She is hoping to get help and change her ways and not have the lifestyle she has had for three years. 'When she has appeared before the court she wants to make amends and lead a law-abiding life. He has been in touch with her while she has been in prison and has been in communication with her family. 'He says he wants to support her if she wants to put in the time to lead a law-abiding life. Her family are supporting her throughout this. They have accommodation for her. They are supporting her and will be there for her when she is released from prison.' Bland was sentenced to two years and three months in jail.
