10 February 2024 , 17:54
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A survivor of the Manchester Arena terror atrocity is leading calls for a dangerous jihadi to be kept behind bars.
Parviz Khan, who plotted to behead a British Muslim soldier, is bidding for parole and could be out within weeks after serving a 14-year minimum term.
Jade Clough – who was seriously injured in the 2017 suicide bombing, which killed 22 people – said: “The thought Khan could be freed is horrific. If this man is released, those responsible will have blood on their hands. He’s a monster.”
Khan, 53, led a Birmingham-based terror cell that plotted to kidnap the soldier while he was on leave and film his beheading in a garage. Sentencing him in 2008, Mr Justice Henriques told Khan it was “impossible to predict when, if ever, it will be safe for you to be released into the public”.
Parviz Khan (PA Archive/Press Association Images)Jade, 34, urged the Parole Board to keep him inside, adding: “These individuals do not deserve second chances. It’s sickening. It’s disgusting he should be even considered for this.”
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Jade is sceptical of Government monitoring after surviving the attack carried out by 22-year-old Salman Abedi – who was known to security services. She said: “Abedi was a known risk. The circumstances with Khan are similar. There have been serious warnings previously. The risk is too great.
“It takes one quick chance and he could strike. He is one of the most dangerous men in this country. We hear from the Government it is getting tough but it’s nonsense. There are no thoughts for the lives ruined by terrorist attacks. The idea of him being released brings back nightmares for me.”
Khan, 53, led a Birmingham-based terror cell that plotted to kidnap and behead a soldier (PA)Jade, a teacher and mum of one from Stockport, suffered leg injuries in the Manchester Arena bombing after taking her teenage nephew to an Ariana Grande concert. In addition to killing 22 people, Abedi injured over 800. Jade added: “I still get flashbacks and panic attacks. It’ll stay with me for ever.”
Colonel Richard Kemp, a terrorism expert and the British Army’s former commander in Afghanistan, also urged the Parole Board not to free Khan. He said: “We have seen before dangerous jihadis released and then commit the most appalling acts of terrorism which kill innocent people. This man is extremely dangerous. I would urge the Parole Board to keep him locked up. They should exercise extreme caution around him.”
Khan’s trial heard how he wanted to lure the soldier with the promise of drugs before killing him “like a pig”. He pleaded guilty to the plot and admitted intending to supply equipment to terrorists on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
His case will be considered by the Parole Board on April 29 – two years after his first parole bid was rejected. A report said Khan had issues “with self-identity and had needed the excitement and status which involvement in terrorist conspiracies provided”.
It added Khan himself recognised he was not ready for release on parole licence. A subsequent conviction for violence in prison “suggested possible anger management problems”.