Islamist Terrorists Who Planned to Use Bombs to Kill Many People Could Soon Be Released From Prison, but Here Is What Reform UK Is Saying About It

Three men jailed over an al-Qaeda-inspired plan to kill large numbers of people could be released from prison in the coming months.

Ibrahim Savant, Arafat Waheed Khan and Waheed Zaman were found guilty of conspiracy to murder after becoming involved in the 2006 terror plot. The wider plan involved using liquid explosives to bring down passenger planes travelling from Britain to North America.

All three men received life sentences with minimum terms of 20 years. They have now served enough time for the Parole Board to consider whether they should be released.

Zaman’s parole hearing is scheduled for September 7, while Khan’s will take place on September 21. Savant’s hearing is listed for November 12. If the board believes they can be safely managed outside prison, they could be released before Christmas.

However, the possibility has caused anger among politicians and counter-terrorism experts. Critics have questioned how people involved in a plan to kill innocent members of the public could ever be considered safe for release.

Reform UK’s home affairs spokesman, Zia Yusuf, said the public would be deeply upset if the men were allowed to return to the streets. He argued that anyone convicted of planning mass murder should remain in prison for life.

Conservative Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy also said it would be unacceptable to release them and warned that the public would be outraged.

The original plot caused one of the biggest security emergencies in the history of British aviation. Police arrested the suspects on August 10, 2006, because they feared that an attack could happen at any moment.

Britain’s terror threat level was raised to critical, and strict new rules were introduced at airports. Thousands of passengers faced long queues, cancelled flights and serious delays during the busy summer holiday period.

British Airways cancelled 1,280 flights over eight days and later said the disruption cost the airline around £40 million.

The plot also changed airport security across the world. Passengers were restricted to carrying liquids in containers of no more than 100ml, placed inside clear plastic bags.

People had to throw away bottles of water and other liquids before passing through security. Shampoo, toothpaste, perfume and suncream also had to be placed in smaller travel containers. Some of these rules are now being relaxed as airports introduce more advanced scanners.

However, investigators said the plot was far more serious than the inconvenience caused at airports. It involved plans to attack several passenger planes flying from Britain to North America, possibly using several suicide bombers. Some suspects had even recorded videos to be released after their deaths.

The main plotters were Abdulla Ahmed Ali, Assad Sarwar and Tanvir Hussain. They were convicted of planning to murder passengers by attacking transatlantic aircraft.

Ali received a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years. Sarwar was ordered to serve at least 36 years, while Hussain received a minimum term of 32 years.

Another man, Umar Islam, was convicted of conspiracy to murder and given a life sentence with a minimum term of 22 years.

The cases against Savant, Khan and Zaman were more complicated. They were first cleared of specifically plotting to blow up passenger planes because prosecutors could not prove that they knew the targets were aircraft.

However, prosecutors said the evidence showed that the three men had agreed to take part in a suicide attack intended to kill members of the public.

A retrial was later approved, and in 2010 another jury found all three guilty of conspiracy to murder. The judge told them that they had agreed to join a plan in which they intended to kill innocent people and themselves.

Nearly 20 years later, their cases are receiving attention again because they are now eligible for parole.

Former counter-terrorism officer Ghaffar Hussain warned that it can be extremely difficult to decide whether a convicted terrorist still poses a danger. He said people who planned to kill large numbers of innocent people should remain in prison for life, especially because some terrorists have committed further offences after being released.

The Parole Board said protecting the public is its main priority and that each case will be examined carefully.

The three men have not yet been approved for release. The Parole Board must first decide whether they can be safely managed in the community without putting the public at risk.