Haroon Aswat, a self-proclaimed terrorist linked to the July 7, 2005 London bombings and the 9/11 terror attacks is scheduled to be released soon from a secure hospital facility in the UK, despite being labeled a “risk to national security” by officials, the Daily Mail reports. Due to his ongoing mental health treatment, he reportedly could be freed without a full risk assessment.
Aswat, 50, was sentenced in the United States in 2015 to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to establish a terrorist training camp in Oregon. He was deported back to the UK in 2022 and has been held in hospital care since then. Authorities remain concerned about his extremist views and potential threat to society.
According to the Daily Mail, “Aswat was visited by a British psychiatrist in America before he was deported back to Britain in 2022 where he declared: ‘I’m a terrorist.’ Now newly-surfaced US court documents show Aswat also confessed to being a ‘mastermind behind the [9/11] attacks and a 2005 attack in the UK’, The Sun has reported. In addition to his connection to the 7/7 London terror bombings, which killed 52 people, Aswat has also threatened to kill Jews, Christians and certain groups of Muslims.”
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick expressed his fear about Aswat returning to the streets of Britain, stating, “He should never experience freedom again.” Although officials have acknowledged their concerns and Mr Justice Robert Jay of the High Court previously noted that there is “evidence of an ongoing risk,” Aswat will be subjected only to a notification order when he is released. Under these conditions, Aswat must “continually notify the police about certain information and keep them up-to-date,” including “his address, foreign travel details and vehicle registration.”
A newly released document from the US District Court described Aswat as a “terrorist” and an al-Qaeda “foot soldier,” revealing that he openly admitted his involvement in terrorist activities. In March 2017, Aswat reportedly stated, “if you think I am a terrorist, I don’t shy away from my responsibility,” and claimed to be a mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks and a 2005 terrorist attack in the UK. The papers also indicate that Aswat disclosed his connections with Osama bin Laden and that he had trained at al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan just months before the September 11, 2001 attacks, which killed over 3,000 people.
His name also reportedly appeared in a ledger found in a house in Pakistan where Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the “architect” of 9/11, had stayed. Further activities attributed to him include assisting “hate preacher” Abu Hamza in establishing a US terror camp in 1999, staying in a Pakistan residence in 2002 where he met two of the 7/7 bombers, holding a terror manual, and possessing alleged bomb materials. Additionally, police traced 20 phone calls made by the 7/7 bombers to a number connected to Aswat.
Mr Justice Jay reportedly said that “Overall, I am satisfied for the reasons that I have given that a notification order should be made in all the circumstances of this case.”
“A psychiatrist has deemed his treatment as being effective and his release from detention is expected in the relatively near future, with the understanding being that he will return to his family in Yorkshire,” he added.
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