Terrorist friend of Manchester Arena bomber freed

A terrorist friend of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi, has been freed from jail.

Abdalraouf Abdallah, who was a childhood friend of Abedi, was released from HMP Full Sutton in East Yorkshire on Tuesday when his sentence came to an end.

The release came after the Parole Board had refused to free him early because he had still been considered a "high risk of serious harm" and was considered to have had a "high propensity to radicalise others".

The 31-year-old had been recalled to prison for breaching licence conditions in 2021.

Despite losing his latest parole board appeal two months ago, Abdallah was eligible for automatic release from prison because his sentence - set in court by a judge - had expired.

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

Salman Abedi visited him in prison and experts believe he groomed the bomber, although Abdallah had denied any involvement in the 2017 atrocity which saw Abedi kill 22 people at the end of an Ariana Grande concert.

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

He was first released from prison in 2020.

He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after becoming paraplegic from injuries received while fighting in Libya in 2011 during the country’s uprising.

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 that was presented to the panel was also deemed "not robust enough" to manage him once he left prison.

It added there was insufficient evidence to suggest there had been any change in his extremist mindset.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas to [email protected] and via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.