Jihadist plotted Pride atrocity inspired by his jail ‘brothers’
A JIHADIST began plotting a terrorist outrage within days of being released from Belmarsh prison, where he was “driven by dreams of martyrdom” after meeting “like-minded brothers”.
Mohiussunnath Chowdhury, 28, boasted to undercover officers that he had duped the jury in a retrial – when he was cleared of attacking police officers with a Samurai sword outside Buckingham Palace in 2017 – by shaving off his beard.
But within days of being released from Belmarsh, where he had spent 18 months on remand, Chowdhury began planning a large-scale terrorist attack.
Woolwich Crown Court heard how he started plotting an attack on the Gay Pride march in London, and spoke of driving a van into the crowds and randomly stabbing people.
It comes after two convicted terrorists, Usman Khan and Sudesh Amman, also carried out attacks following their release. Chowdhury was in Belmarsh at the same time as Amman, who stabbed two people in south London earlier this month.
Chowdhury was finally convicted of a terrorist offence after four undercover police officers spent months recording him. Jurors yesterday found him guilty of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts, collecting information likely to be useful to someone preparing an act of terrorism, and disseminating terrorist publications.
Nikita Malik, director of the Centre on Radicalisation and Terrorism at the Henry Jackson Society, said: “HM Chief Inspector of Prisons needs to conduct an investigation into whether Belmarsh is adequately fulfilling its deradicalisation duties.”