Overview
- Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, were convicted of preparing terrorist acts targeting Manchester’s Jewish community, with Saadaoui’s brother Bilel, 36, found guilty of failing to disclose information.
- Multiple outlets, citing The Sun, report the two main defendants are held at HMP Preston on a standard regime with access to canteen funds, TVs, DVDs, phones, gyms and education, while the Ministry of Justice declined to confirm prisoner locations.
- Greater Manchester Police said the planned use of assault rifles and hundreds of rounds could have produced one of the deadliest attacks on UK soil, and court evidence recorded the plotters saying Christian casualties would be a “bonus.”
- The conspiracy was infiltrated by an undercover operative known as “Farouk,” who supplied deactivated firearms before arrests on May 8, 2024.
- Court reporting described Hussein’s volatile conduct and his comment that he was “proud to be a terrorist,” while evidence presented against Bilel included ISIS nasheeds on his phone; all three are due to be sentenced on February 13.