Terrorist friend of arena bomber freed from jail despite Parole Board concerns

Terrorist Abdalraouf Abdallah, the childhood friend of Manchester Arena attacker Salman Abedi, has been freed from jail.

The 31-year-old was released from HMP Full Sutton in East Yorkshire on Tuesday when his sentence came to an end, the PA news agency understands.

It comes two months after the Parole Board refused to free him early because he was still considered a “high risk of serious harm to the public” and had a “propensity to radicalise others”.

Abdallah was recalled to prison for breaching licence conditions in 2021.

Despite losing his latest parole bid in September, he is now eligible for automatic release from prison because his sentence – set in court by a judge – has expired.

The Islamic extremist played an “important role” in Abedi’s radicalisation, according to a report from the inquiry into the attack.

Abedi visited him in prison and experts believe he groomed the bomber.

But Abdallah – who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after becoming paraplegic when injured fighting in Libya during the country’s 2011 uprising – has denied any involvement in the 2017 atrocity.

He was first released from prison in 2020 after being handed an extended sentence of nine-and-a-half years – including a five-and-a-half-year prison term – in 2016 when he was found guilty of preparing and funding acts of terrorism by helping four others travel to Syria.

According to a report detailing the Parole Board’s decision in September, the panel accepted the inquiry’s finding that Abdallah “had played a significant role in radicalising the Manchester Arena bomber, although there was no evidence that he was involved in the attack itself or had any pre-knowledge of it”.

While in prison Abdallah took part in courses designed to tackle the motivations behind his offending “and the beliefs which enable it”, as well as taking part in rehabilitation to “manage the risk of individuals who have been involved in extremist or terrorism-related activity”.

But his probation officer, prison officer and psychologist still did not support his release, with assessments determining he posed a “high risk of serious harm to the public”.

Psychologists concluded Abdallah continued to “show levels of engagement with extremism and intent to commit terrorist-related offending”, the papers said.

A plan for his release presented to the panel was also deemed “not robust enough” to manage him once he left prison as he “retained a propensity to radicalise others” – including “in any accommodation he is released to or any other person with whom he may come in contact” – and there was insufficient evidence to suggest there had been any change in his extremist mindset.

A Government spokesperson said: “The Manchester Arena bombing was one of the most tragic and cowardly attacks this country has ever seen, and our thoughts remain with the victims and their families.

“The UK has robust measures in place to manage the risk posed by terrorist offenders released from prison and those involved in terrorism related activity in the community.”