British al-Qaeda boss could be freed from jail
A TERROR boss – the highestranking member of al-Qaeda to be jailed in Britain – could be cleared for release next month.
Rangzieb Ahmed, thought to have had links with fanatics behind the 7/7 London atrocities, will appear before a parole board 11 years after he was given a life sentence for plotting attacks.
Ahmed, 43, from Rochdale, was jailed for a minimum of 10 years in Manchester in 2008 after a lengthy investigation into a network of Islamists stretching from Manchester to Pakistan.
He was accused of playing a central role in linking British al-Qaeda sympathisers with commanders overseas. He had notebooks containing details of terror contacts in invisible ink.
Sentencing him, Mr Justice Saunders said: “You were a not insignificant member of al-Qaeda.
“I’m satisfied you are dedicated to the cause of Islamic terrorism.
“You are an intelligent, capable and superficially reasonable man involved in terrorism.
“That makes you an extremely dangerous man.”
Counter-terrorism chiefs in Greater Manchester had said they were convinced an attack was imminent.The judge ruledAhmed should only be considered for parole when he was no longer thought to be a danger to the public and no longer radicalised.
He reportedly had links with the fanatics behind the bombings in London on July 7, 2005, which killed 52 people and injured 700.
He is also suspected of links with extremists behind a failed plot to detonate more bombs in the capital two weeks later.
A Parole Board spokesperson said: “The job of the Parole Board is to determine if someone would represent a significant risk to the public after release.
“The panel will carefully look at a whole range of evidence.”