Haroon Aswat, a terrorist linked to both the 9/11 attacks in New York and the 7/7 London bombings, has been released from a secure mental health hospital despite police warnings that he remains a risk to national security. The 50-year-old left Bethlem Royal Hospital in Bromley after a High Court judge ruled last year that he could be released once he had completed treatment for his mental illness.
Release and Monitoring
Aswat is expected to move to Batley, West Yorkshire, to live with family, according to The Telegraph. The Home Office will closely monitor his movements and contacts. He faces restrictions, with the possibility of enforcement action or a return to prison if he violates them. His release is likely to spark concerns about potential involvement in extremist activity again.
Background and Convictions
While in US custody, Aswat reportedly admitted involvement in both the 9/11 attacks and the 7/7 bombings, in which 52 people were killed and more than 800 injured. Police found that the 7/7 bombers made 20 calls to a phone linked to Aswat in the hours before carrying out their attacks. Although never convicted for those attacks, Aswat was convicted in the US in 2015 for helping to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon in 1999 under the direction of hate preacher Abu Hamza. Prosecutors also said he trained at an extremist camp in Afghanistan in 2001 and stayed at an al-Qaeda safe house in Pakistan, where he met two of the future 7/7 bombers.
Legal Proceedings and Extradition
After more than a decade of legal proceedings, Aswat was extradited from Britain to the US in 2014. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, later reduced to seven years to reflect time already spent detained at Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire. He was deported back to Britain in 2022 and transferred to Bethlem Royal Hospital under the Mental Health Act, which allows detention for treatment of serious mental illness. The move was driven by national security concerns.
Mental Health and Risk Assessment
Aswat has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a condition affecting thoughts, emotions, and behaviour. A psychiatrist concluded there was no evidence he had the condition when the Oregon offences were committed in 1999. In a report before his extradition, the psychiatrist wrote: "Even when in a relatively stable mental state [Aswat] has continued to express violent extremist Islamic ideology." The psychiatrist also noted Aswat was "highly ambivalent about the need for medication and had relapsed twice as a result of stopping treatment", which coincided with violent outbursts. The report concluded that "there remains the risk of Islamic violent extremism."
Court Ruling and Government Response
At a High Court hearing last year, the court found that Aswat could be released after completing treatment. The court was told that several police officers assessed him and warned he "remains a risk to national security." A Home Office spokesman told The Telegraph: "Protecting the British public is the Government's first priority. We have some of the most robust counter-terrorism measures in the world, including powers for police and intelligence services to monitor and manage the risk posed by terrorist offenders and criminals. We do not routinely comment on individual cases, but where individuals are released from detention, appropriate measures are in place to manage risk and ensure public safety."
