Reading terrorist joined Islamic extremists during Arab Spring, inquest told
The Reading terror attacker joined a proscribed Islamist group during the uprising against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in Libya almost a decade before murdering three men in a park, an inquest has heard.
Libyan refugee Khairi Saadallah shouted “Allahu akbar” as he fatally stabbed friends James Furlong, 36, David Wails, 49, and Joseph Ritchie-Bennett, 39, in the Berkshire town’s Forbury Gardens on June 20 2020.
Three other people – Stephen Young, Patrick Edwards and Nishit Nisudan – were injured before Saadallah threw away the 8in (20cm) knife and ran off, pursued by an off-duty police officer.
An inquest at the Old Bailey heard on Wednesday that Saadallah had joined a terrorist group in Libya, which is proscribed in the UK, during the 2011 Arab Spring uprising against Gaddafi’s dictatorship.
The hearing was told that Saadallah said he fled the group when he was asked to engage in torture.
Thames Valley Police Detective Chief Superintendent Oliver Wright, senior investigating officer in the attacks case, told the court he believed Saadallah to be a “complex individual” who was radicalised during his time in Libya, and that he maintained an “enduring interest” in Islamic extremism.
However, he added that he also suffered PTSD from his experiences there.
Years later, while imprisoned in HMP Bullingdon in 2017, Saadallah was reportedly “often keen” to speak with well-known convicted Islamist terrorist Omar Brooks.
Ministry of Justice notes, titled “Candidate believed to be radicalised”, were shown to the court.
They said: “Intelligence suggests that (Saadallah) is often keen to talk to Mr Brooks. (Saadallah) is young, impressionable and volatile.
“Due to the fact that Brooks is a well-known extremist preacher, this worries staff.”
Mr Wright added that Saadallah “was very keen to go to Friday prayers” and praised the prison for acting “very quickly” on receiving the intelligence.
Further reports read to the court revealed that in 2018 Saadallah “stated that he hated the UK and would easily shoot Theresa May”, who was prime minister at the time.
Another set of prison reports said: “He’s stated seven times to various different staff members that he’s still an active member of terrorist group Isis.
“(He) said he wants to be deported so he can carry on fighting.”
On other occasions, however, Saadallah claimed to have fled from Isis.
The court heard that his phone contained an image of a flag associated with Islamic State terrorists, as well as an image of two men in combat gear, one of whom is performing the “one-fingered salute” linked with the same group.
He also had multiple photographs of him carrying guns, including an assault rifle, in an image thought to have been taken during his time in Libya.
Two images, also shown to the court, included a handgun with the letter “K” spelled out in bullets, and his account on X, formerly Twitter, was named “Khairy Thug” and featured a cover photograph of multiple guns and ammunition.
Officers also discovered in his flat a handwritten note in Arabic that said: “May God release the prisoners who took part in the wars.
“One day God will break the chains. We will be free to carry out Jihad. Tears of God will come down.”
Mr Wright said Saadallah was radicalised in Libya and that his interest in Islamic extremism was “enduring”.
He added that Saadallah is a “complex individual” and suggested he is “used to extreme violence”, adding: “It’s difficult to see during that time exactly what was going on in his head.”
The inquest continues.
