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https://www.gbnews.com/news/osama-bin-laden-ally-rangzieb-ahmed-parole-hearing
A key ally of Osama Bin Laden could be freed from prison in just a few weeks.
Rangzieb Ahmed, 47, will launch a fresh bid for freedom next month alongside 45-year-old Islamic State fanatic Mohammed Zahir Khan.
However, a leading terrorism expert urged officials not to free either of them.
Chris Phillips, the former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office said: “It's madness to be considering this.
“Public safety will be at risk if either of these men are released.
“You have to question whether it will ever be safe for either of them to walk the streets again.”
The hearings come after Labour announced it was preparing to release criminals early to free up spaces.
Ahmed, who was born in Rochdale, was named as Al-Qaeda’s UK chief and Bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe.
He was the first ever person to be charged with directing terrorism in the UK.
Ahmed relocated to Kashmir as a young child and was arrested by Indian authorities at the age of 18 for allegedly fighting as a member of the Islamist terror group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.
He was put under surveillance when he moved back to the UK in 2005 and officials discovered a diary containing Al-Qaeda contacts written in invisible ink.
Traces of explosives were also found on a rucksack in Ahmed’s possession.
The 47-year-old was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of ten years in 2007, later receiving £1million in legal aid.
Khan, originally from Birmingham, was managing a shop in Sunderland when he was arrested for posting his support for Islamic State on social media.
Mohammed Zahir Khan
PA
A key ally of Osama Bin Laden could be freed from prison in just a few weeks.
Rangzieb Ahmed, 47, will launch a fresh bid for freedom next month alongside 45-year-old Islamic State fanatic Mohammed Zahir Khan.
However, a leading terrorism expert urged officials not to free either of them.
Chris Phillips, the former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office said: “It's madness to be considering this.
“Public safety will be at risk if either of these men are released.
“You have to question whether it will ever be safe for either of them to walk the streets again.”
The hearings come after Labour announced it was preparing to release criminals early to free up spaces.
Ahmed, who was born in Rochdale, was named as Al-Qaeda’s UK chief and Bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe.
He was the first ever person to be charged with directing terrorism in the UK.
Ahmed relocated to Kashmir as a young child and was arrested by Indian authorities at the age of 18 for allegedly fighting as a member of the Islamist terror group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.
He was put under surveillance when he moved back to the UK in 2005 and officials discovered a diary containing Al-Qaeda contacts written in invisible ink.
Traces of explosives were also found on a rucksack in Ahmed’s possession.
The 47-year-old was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of ten years in 2007, later receiving £1million in legal aid.
Khan, originally from Birmingham, was managing a shop in Sunderland when he was arrested for posting his support for Islamic State on social media.
Mohammed Zahir Khan
PA
