A terrorist who groomed the Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi has been released from prison – despite warnings over him presenting a “high risk of serious harm to the public”.
Abdalraouf Abdallah, 31, a childhood friend of Abedi, was freed from East Yorkshire’s HMP Full Sutton on Tuesday after his sentence came to an end.
But just two months ago, the Parole Board refused to let him go – not only because of the “high risk” concerns, but also because of his “propensity to radicalise others”.
Abdallah played an “important role” in Abedi’s radicalisation, a report from the inquiry into the attack says, with the latter visiting the former in prison, where he was groomed.
Abdalraouf Abdallah has been allowed to walk free
MANCHESTER ARENA INQUIRY
The 31-year-old was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after becoming paralysed from an injury fighting in Libya during the country’s 2011 uprising.
He has denied any involvement in the 2017 attack.
He was first released from prison in 2020 after being handed an extended sentence of nine and a half years, including a five and a half-year prison term, in 2016 when he was found guilty of preparing and funding acts of terrorism by helping four people travel to Syria.
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Abdallah was freed from East Yorkshire’s HMP Full Sutton on Tuesday
STUART MILLER SOLICITORS
In September, the Parole Board accepted the inquiry’s finding that Abdallah “had played a significant role in radicalising the Manchester Arena bomber, although there was no evidence that he was involved in the attack itself or had any pre-knowledge of it”.
And in prison, Abdallah took part in courses designed to tackle the motivations and beliefs behind his offending, as well as rehabilitation to help “manage the risk of individuals who have been involved in extremist or terrorism-related activity”.
Despite that, his probation officer, prison officer and psychologist still did not support his release, with assessments determining he posed a “high risk of serious harm to the public”.
Psychologists also said Abdallah continued to “show levels of engagement with extremism and intent to commit terrorist-related offending”.
Robert Jenrick has urged his Cabinet counterpart Shabana Mahmood to intervene
PA
A plan for his release presented to the panel was also deemed “not robust enough” to manage him once he left prison as he “retained a propensity to radicalise others”, including “in any accommodation he is released to or any other person with whom he may come in contact”.
With the findings in mind, his release has prompted fury – not least from Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick, who has urged his Cabinet counterpart Shabana Mahmood to intervene.
And it follows the harrowing comments of Manchester Arena attack survivor Jade Clough who labelled Abdallah’s potential release “scary”.
“It’s terrifying. It’s scary. You don’t know what goes on in the country with relation to how many people are on watch lists and stuff like that,” she told GB News