A trial accusing two men of planning “untold harm” and “mass fatalities” with an attack on members of the Jewish community in Manchester has been interrupted by an outburst from one of the defendants.
Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, are accused of preparing acts of terrorism between 13 December 2023 and 9 May 2024.
Preston Crown Court heard the two men bought assault rifles, handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition as they prepared for a suicide attack on the Jewish community in Manchester.
Opening the case on Wednesday, prosecutor Harpreet Sandhu KC said Saadaoui, from Abram, near Wigan, was arrested by counter-terrorism officers in a car park in Bolton as he allegedly took a delivery of weapons following an undercover sting operation.
The jury was played police body-worn footage that showed Saadaoui running from officers as they approached to arrest him on 8 May last year.
The prosecutor told the jury: “The firearms and ammunition Walid Saadaoui was about to receive were capable of causing untold harm.
“Untold harm was precisely what Walid Saadaoui had planned to cause together with Amar Hussein.”
As soon as Hussein’s name was mentioned, he shouted across the court: “Don’t talk shit, how many babies, how many children? Don’t talk shit, we defend ourselves.”
The court rose and the judge, Mr Justice Wall, later told the jury: “I am sorry about that, members of the jury.
“Mr Hussein has decided he does not want to be in court for the rest of the opening.”
When proceedings resumed, Mr Sandhu told the court that Walid Saadaoui was about to receive the firearms and ammunition because he and Hussein were planning to cause “mass fatalities”.
“In particular, they planned to kill as many members of the Jewish community as they could, especially those in north west of England,” the barrister said.
“Their plan was to get the weapons and ammunition and identify a mass gathering of Jewish people who they could attack,” he added.
He said they had identified areas in Greater Manchester with a large Jewish population to attack and also intended to kill any police officers who got in their way.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
Read more from Sky News:
Dolly Parton is ‘going to be just fine’, says sister
Why fish and chips could be under threat
Both men embraced the views of the so-called Islamic State and were prepared to risk their own lives to become “martyrs”, the prosecutor added.
“By May 2024, they had spent months preparing for their acts of terrorism. That included preparing themselves for their own deaths,” Mr Sandhu said.
The two men face trial alongside Saadaoui’s younger brother, Bilel, 36, from Hindley, near Wigan, who is charged with failure to disclose information about an act of terrorism.
All the defendants deny the allegations.
Before the trial started, the judge told the jury the background of the case was “coincidental” to last week’s attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester.
He said: “It is no part of the prosecution’s case that any of these defendants had anything to do with what happened in the synagogue in Manchester last week.
“You must try them fairly without reference or thought to what happened there,” he added.
The trial continues.
