Overview
- Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, were found guilty at Preston Crown Court of preparing terrorist acts between December 13, 2023, and May 9, 2024.
- A third defendant, Bilel Saadaoui, 36, was convicted of failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism.
- Prosecutors said the plan targeted a march against antisemitism in Manchester before moving to Jewish neighborhoods in north Manchester to kill more people.
- Saadaoui was arrested on May 8, 2024, in a Bolton hotel car park while attempting to collect two assault rifles, a semi‑automatic pistol, and nearly 200 rounds from an operative he knew as “Farouk,” who was in fact undercover.
- Evidence detailed efforts to obtain AK‑style rifles, reconnaissance at the Port of Dover, surveillance of Jewish schools and synagogues in Prestwich and Higher Broughton, and a safe house in Bolton, with police saying the intended firepower could have produced one of the deadliest attacks in UK history.