Manchester Arena plotter Hashem Abedi has refused to appear in court after being charged with attempting to murder prison officers at a maximum security jail.
The 28-year-old did not appear on a scheduled videolink at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, forcing an adjournment of the case.
He is accused of three counts of attempted murder after four prison officers were injured at HMP Frankland in County Durham on April 12.
Abedi also faces one charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of unauthorised possession of a knife or offensive weapon.
Three prison officers were taken to hospital with serious injuries after they were allegedly attacked with hot oil and makeshift weapons in an ambush.
Abedi is alleged to have melted down sachets of butter to hurl boiling fat at a female officer before allegedly stabbing two male colleagues with improvised blades fashioned from cooking trays.
The alleged incident happened in the kitchen of the prison’s separation unit, which houses Islamist extremists.
After the jail incident, it is claimed Abedi was restrained by a prison riot team and was later transferred to HMP Full Sutton near York.
Hashem Abedi is next due to appear at the same court in London on September 25th.
The convicted terrorist is serving at least 55 years for helping his brother Salman plan the 2017 bombing, which killed 22 people, on 22nd May 2017.
Mark Fairhurst of the Prison Officers’ Association has since demanded that extremist inmates lose access to kitchens entirely.
He said: “We’ve warned this could happen. This time three officers nearly lost their lives. What’s it going to take for the government to act?”
Mr Fairhurst called on the Ministry of Justice to ensure that no inmate in a separation centre has access to kitchen equipment or any items that could be used as weapons. He also reiterated calls for frontline officers to be issued with stab-proof vests without delay.
He explained: “These are dangerous individuals – terrorists, murderers, violent extremists – and staff are going into these units without adequate protection. It’s not acceptable.”
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