AN Islamist double murderer has been awarded a £7,500 payout after a taxpayer funded £234,000 legal battle.
Fuad Awale was convicted in January 2013 of the execution-style shooting of two teenagers and given a life sentence with a minimum term of 38 years.
He was then given a further six years for taking a prison officer hostage and threatening to kill him.
The double murderer is said to have pinned the officer to a chair, and pointed a sharp implement at his throat before saying: “Stop struggling, I’ve killed two people – I’ll kill you.”
During the incident he had demanded the release of hate preacher Abu Qatada.
He also asked to associate with one of the Islamic extremist killers of Fusilier Lee Rigby.
His request was denied over “counter-terrorism concerns” and, following the attack on a prison officer he was moved to a special separation unit for dangerous convicts.
Awale, a Muslim assessed to “hold extremist beliefs”, has since won a High Court case over the impact his treatment in prison has had on his mental health.
He said he suffered “severe depression” when he was denied contact with other inmates.
The murderer was awarded a £7,500 compensation payout as well as having his £234,000 legal costs covered by the taxpayer after a High Court ruling.
He claimed decisions to house him in a close supervision centre (CSC) – segregated from the wider prison population – had impacted his mental health and breached his human rights.
By the time of the High Court ruling in September 2024 Awale had not been able to associate with any other inmates since March 2023.
Mrs Justice Ellenbogen ruled that his treatment breached Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) which protects the right to a private and family life.
A judge said there had been a “significant degree of interference with the claimant’s private life.”
Details of the compensation payouts Awale received have now been revealed in a letter from Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy.
Mr Lammy said the Government would “keep under review” whether the ECHR was acting as a barrier to protecting national security.
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick told the Telegraph: “It’s a sick joke that taxpayers are handing this man £7,500 in compensation and footing a legal bill of over £230,000.
“This is a double murderer and extremist who took a prison officer hostage. This is the reality of the ECHR: it prioritises the ‘rights’ of terrorists to associate with other extremists over the safety of our prison officers.
“Labour are cowing to terrorists and the human rights brigade. They must introduce emergency legislation to carve these monsters out of the ECHR immediately.”
In his letter to Mr Jenrick, the Deputy Prime Minister said: “This Government will not be cowed by legal threats from prisoners.
“The separation centre remains an essential operational tool to protect the public and other prisoners and when dangerous radicalisers pose a risk, they will be placed in one.
“This Government is committed to the European Convention on Human Rights.
“Commitment does not mean complacency, however, and we must keep under review whether the application of the convention is acting as a barrier to us protecting national security.”
Awale was kept in HMP Woodhill, Milton Keynes, from 2021 onwards and did not associate with any other inmates.
He spent as little as one hour a day outside of his cell.
