Parsons Green bomber and other terrorists convicted of ‘vicious’ attack on HMP Belmarsh prison guard

Three convicted terrorists, including the Parsons Green Tube bomber and the Manchester Area attacker, have been found guilty of a “vicious attack” on a prison officer at HMP Belmarsh.

Ahmed Hassan, Hashem Abedi and Muhammed Saeed left Paul Edwards, 57, with head and facial injuries, bruising and hearing damage, after the “frenzied” assault, in May 2020.

Hassan, 22, injured 50 people after detonating a homemade bomb on a District line train in Parsons Green, Hammersmith and Fulham, in 2017.

While Abedi was the mastermind of the Manchester Arena attack, which killed 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert in the same year, while Saeed is a convicted Isis supporter.

The trio of extremists were being held in HMP Belmarsh’s high security unit, in Thamesmead, which has been described as a prison within a prison.

The victim told the court he feared for his life during the violent assault, Sky News reported.

He was kicked in the head by Saeed, 23, while Abedi, 24, was seen swinging a chair at him.

While kicks, punches and headbutts were thrown in the brief attack, leaving him bloodied.

But Mr Edwards, who needed hospital treatment, told jurors “it felt like a lifetime”.

Fellow prison officer Nick Barnett came to his aid and was kicked in the leg by Abedi.

Abedi was given a further three years and 10 months behind bars, while Hassan and Saeed were each sentenced to an additional three years’ jail time.

The three men were convicted of actual bodily harm at Woolwich Crown Court on Tuesday, February 22.

Abedi was also found guilty of assault on an emergency worker, for kicking Mr Barnett.

Due to the criminal history of the defendants, the assault was investigated by the Met’s counter-terrorism command.

However, there was found to be no evidence of any terrorist intent.

Officers believed the men attacked Mr Edwards as they were upset at having lost prison privileges, and believed other inmates were treated preferentially.

On May 11, 2020, Abedi complained about losing his privileges to a unit governor and officer.

Later that day, the three men were being taken back to their cells after exercise when, after waiting in a corridor for a moment, they all ran towards the office and launched the attack.

Commander Richard Smith, who leads the Met’s counter-terrorism squad, said: “These three offenders launched a cowardly and vicious attack on a prison officer, in what they saw as retribution for having some of their privileges taken away.

“One witness described it as a ‘frenzied’ attack, and I have no doubt they set out to seriously injure their victim.

“I would like to praise the prison staff who intervened very quickly, and were able to stop the attack and gain control of the situation.”

Abedi, Hassan and Saeed were charged in January 2020, and first appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 7 and Thursday, 8 April 2021.