Two murderers found guilty of threatening to kill prison warden in 'jailhouse jihad'

 
Murdered: Fusilier Lee Rigby's family hit out at Facebook after the report
PA
31 March 2014
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Two killers were convicted at the Old Bailey of threatening a warden at one of Britain's highest security prisons in an attempted jailhouse jihad.

Islamic extremists Feroz Khan, 26, and Fuad Awale, 26, tried to take over HMP Full Sutton, near York, after an Iman dared to offer his condolences to the family of murdered soldier Lee Rigby.

Two days after storming out of the prayer service, Khan went to visit every Muslim prisoner in a bid to start an Islamic uprising.

The pair targeted prison guard Richard Thompson, believing him to be ex-British military, and demanded the release of hate preacher Abu Qatada.

But their protest was broken up after a hostage negotiator calmly told them their timing was “s***” - because it was the night of the Britain's Got Talent final.

Khan battered Mr Thompson, fracturing his eye socket before threatening to kill the guard, jurors heard.

Khan had planned the attack after telling another guard that it was a Muslim's duty to “fight until Sharia law is established in every country.”

Khan smiled as he was convicted of making threats to kill and causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Thompson after 13 hours of deliberations by the jury.

He was cleared of false imprisonment and assaulting a second prison guard, Rachel Oxtoby, causing actual bodily harm.

Awale was convicted of making threats to kill but cleared of false imprisonment.

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A third man, convicted killer David Watson, 27, winked at the jury after they cleared him of false imprisonment.

The defendants were led from the cells into the dock separately to hear the verdicts at the request of the prison service to ensure “good order and discipline.”

They will be sentenced by Judge Michael Topolski QC next week.

Jurors had heard relations between staff and Muslim inmates at Full Sutton had become tense following Drummer Rigby's death last May.

Four days later Mr Thompson was ambushed as he walked into a cleaning office on the prison's Echo Wing.

As Mr Thompson was pinned to his chair Awale pointed a sharp implement by his throat and said: “Stop struggling, I've killed two people - I'll kill you.”

Mr Thompson said: “I saw Awale playing with the knives. At one stage he was rubbing the knives together, rather like someone who was preparing to carve up a Sunday roast.”

Khan told prison guards he wanted to negotiate and one of his terms was the release of Qatada, who was then awaiting deportation to Jordan to face terror charges.

Negotiator John Elliot told the court: “Part of what I was aiming to do was to get them to think clearly about the demands they made, what the realistic prospect was for having them met.

“I think I said that evening as well, it was X Factor or Britain's Got Talent, one of those programmes, it was the final so people would be watching that rather than the news.

“And in order to drive that home I remember saying to Mr Khan: 'Your timing is s**t'”.

The defendants were later seized by officers in riot gear.

Khan, Awale, and Watson were all serving life sentences for murder at the time of the incident.

In February 2007, Khan had shot his friend Skander Rehman in the back of the head at point blank range after luring him to a park in Bradford - wrongly believing he was having an affair with his wife.

Like Khan, Somali-born Awale became a devout Muslim once he was behind bars.

He was convicted of the double murder of two teenagers who were shot in a Milton Keynes drug war in January last year.

Watson, a white Muslim convert, stabbed to death a security guard at a HMV store in Norwich after being caught with a stolen CD in December 2006.

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