Three convicted terrorists, including the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, have been found guilty of attacking a prison officer in Belmarsh’s high security unit.

Paul Edwards, 57, said he thought he would be killed when he was set upon by Hashem Abedi, Parsons Green Tube bomber Ahmed Hassan and Muhammed Saeed, who spoke about carrying out a knife attack in London.

Abedi, 24, conspired with his elder brother and suicide bomber Salman Abedi, who killed 22 people and injured hundreds more at the Manchester Arena on May 22 2017.

He was suspected of being the “amir” or “leader” of a group of Islamist terrorist inmates inside Belmarsh’s “prison within a prison,” Woolwich Crown Court heard.

Abedi is seen smiling in CCTV footage before he, Hassan and Saeed storm Mr Edwards’ office, where he operated an “open door policy”.

Mr Edwards, a custodian manager who has worked at Belmarsh for 25 years, told jurors he was hit with a chair, repeatedly punched and kicked on May 11 2020.

“I feared for my life, and I genuinely thought if I hadn’t fought back I would’ve ended up with at least extreme injuries or dead,” he said.

Dominic Raab reveals plans to create 4,000 new prison places

Paul Robson: Escaped sex offender moved to open prison last month after being denied parole five times

Prisons to get ‘airport-style’ security and addiction assessments for all inmates under drugs crackdown plan

He said “it felt like a lifetime” before colleagues, including Nick Barnett, who has been a prison officer for 21 years, came to his aid seconds later.

“It was just like a pack of animals on Mr Edwards,” said Mr Barnett, who was also kicked in the leg by Abedi during the incident.

Mr Edwards, who can be seen with head injuries and blood on his shirt, suffered a laceration to his head, bruising to his back, rib cage and face and has lasting damage to his hearing.

All three prisoners denied assault causing actual bodily harm to Mr Edwards but were found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court on Tuesday by a jury after around three and a half hours of deliberations.

Abedi was also found guilty of assault by beating of an emergency worker over the attack on Mr Barnett.

“I don’t think we get created like other prisoners”

Abedi, who defended himself, was not allowed to cross-examine his victims but accused other prison officers of lying in their statements as he questioned them from the dock.

In a closing speech, he said: “I don’t think we get treated like other prisoners.”

When Abedi appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, he said in relation to the assault: “I did assault that filthy pig, but I don’t see any wrongdoing.”

Asked about the second charge, he was said to have replied: “Same as before, I don’t see any wrongdoing.”

At a later Crown Court appearance, Hassan told a judge: “I hate you very much, you are an evil man.”

The judge said she will sentence them later on Tuesday.

Related posts:

More surge testing in Ealing as additional South Africa variant cases detected Nicola Sturgeon accused of damaging Scotland’s institution to ‘save her own skin’ Rat sightings soar in London as lockdown changes rodents’ habits Missing Oxford student has chronic condition and was ‘struggling to cope’ with shielding, mum says Woman handed life sentence for murdering partner with steak knife after retrial GHB to be reclassified as a class B drug after its use in ‘truly sickening crimes’ Man who strangled and dismembered wife after row over frozen chips jailed for life Premier League clubs must sign Owners’ Charter in wake of Super League fiasco Murder of unidentified headless torso remains unsolved 30 years on Bailiffs start removing environmental protesters from trees and tunnels at HS2 site Dinosaur with uniquely ‘bulbous’ nose discovered on the Isle of Wight during lockdown ‘We’re not going to run away’: Briton explains decision to stay in Kyiv despite UK warning to leave