Terrorist friend of Manchester Arena bomber loses parole bid for freedom

A convicted terrorist and the childhood friend of the Manchester Arena attacker has lost a bid to be freed from jail.

Abdalraouf Abdallah, 31, faced a parole review after being recalled to prison for breaching licence conditions in 2021.

But, despite the decision, he is still due to walk free from prison later this year when his sentence expires.

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

Abedi visited him in prison and experts believe he groomed the bomber, but Abdallah has denied any involvement in the 2017 atrocity.

In a statement on Monday, the Parole Board said: “Following four oral hearing days and a dossier of evidence of over 1,800 pages, we can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board refused the release of Abdalraouf Abdallah.

“Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.

"The panel of the Parole Board were not satisfied that he no longer posed a risk to the public, and accordingly did not direct his release.

“Due to the nature of his extended determinate sentence, law determines that he will be automatically released when his sentence expires.

"The sentence expiry date in November is determined by the period of punishment set by the sentencing judge.”

Abdallah's Libyan family fled the murderous regime of Colonel Gaddafi in the early 1990s and were granted asylum in the UK where they moved to South Manchester, along with Abedi's family who were also anti-Gaddafi.

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 released from prison in 2020.

His mobile phone was seized when he was arrested in late November 2014 on suspicion of those offences and later analysis revealed more than 1,000 message exchanges with Abedi.

Abdullah had previously been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after becoming paraplegic when injured in fighting in Libya in 2011 during the country’s uprising.

His case was considered by the Parole Board over four days on April 8 and 9, July 1 and 31 2024. The hearing days on April 8 and 9 were conducted at the prison where Abdallah is held, while the latter dates were held remotely by via videolink.

According to a report from the board, the parole review panel accepted the finding of the Manchester Arena Public Inquiry that the defendant “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”.

The report also said Abdallah had undertaken an accredited programme intended to address the motivations behind his offending “and the beliefs which enable it”.

He also undertook a one-to-one rehabilitative support programme intended to “manage the risk of individuals who have been involved in extremist or terrorism-related activity”.

Despite this, his community-based probation officer, prison-based officer and prison-instructed psychologist did not support his release, with assessments determining he posed a “high risk of serious harm to the public”.

Prison psychologists concluded that Abdallah continued to show levels of engagement with extremism and intent to commit terrorist-related offending.

A release plan presented to the panel was also deemed “not robust enough” to manage him in the community as he “retained a propensity to radicalise others” and there was insufficient evidence to suggest there had been any change in his extremist mindset.

The panel concluded that Abdallah retained an extremist mindset and continued to pose a risk of radicalising others, including those “in any accommodation he is released to or any other person with whom he may come in contact”.

Want more on the issues affecting the North? Our podcast, From the North answers the questions that matter to our region.