Terrorists may be forced to face assault charge in court
MANCHESTER Arena bomb plotter Hashem Abedi and Parsons Green Tube bomber Ahmed Hassan may be forced to attend court after refusing to leave their jail cells to face a charge of attacking a prison officer.
Abedi, 23 – brother of suicide bomber Salman Abedi – and Hassan, 21, are accused alongside another suspect, Muhammed Saeed, 23.
They each face a charge of actual bodily harm against Paul Edwards at HMP Belmarsh in south-east London on May 11 last year.
Neither Abedi nor Hassan appeared via videolink from Category A HMP Frankland in County Durham for the hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court yesterday morning.
Asked by District Judge Tan Ikram whether Abedi and Hassan were “refusing to attend”, an unnamed Frankland jail officer replied: “They’re refusing to come down to this location, they are in their cells on the wings.”
Bruising
He added: “They’ve not made any formal representation, they just insisted they’re not going to attend in any shape or form, sir.”
The justice relisted the hearing today when pleas should be heard.
That is unless the matter gets moved straight to the crown court at the request of the prosecution.
Judge Ikram told the prison officer: “I’m not sure if you will get the opportunity to speak to the two defendants.
“But if you are, they are advised to attend – one of the powers the court has is the use of force.”
Saeed, originally from Old Trafford in Manchester and currently awaiting sentence for sharing Islamic State propaganda, appeared via videolink from Category A HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire.
Wearing a red jumper, he spoke to confirm his identity and to enter a not guilty plea. He was remanded in court until May 5.
Outlining the case, prosecutor Nicholas Alexander alleged the three defendants were out of their cells on for
May 11 last year when they entered an office and assaulted Mr Edwards as he sat at a desk. The prison officer suffered cuts to his head and bruising, and was also kicked. He still has hearing problems as a result of the alleged assault, the court heard.
The judge provisionally relisted the hearing for Abedi and Hassan to be produced – again via videolink today – unless the prosecution elects to “circumvent” the hearing.