11:53am Wednesday 18th November 2009
PRISONS such as Belmarsh in Thamesmead are failing to cope with the spread of extremist Islamic ideology, a report claims.
Counter-extremism think tank Quilliam has warned that failure to tackle prison radicalisation risks creating a fresh wave of hardened extremists, both inside and outside prisons, who are willing and capable of conducting terrorist violence.
The report is largely based on accounts of prison life from inmates.
Last year, the report claims, hook-handed preacher Abu Hamza led hunger strikes against conditions in Belmarsh, including one over a supposed lack of halal food.
It warns he has also been allowed to spread his message of hate via sermons to other Muslims through the pipes that link prison cells.
Even those prisoners who are not convicted of terrorism offences can become intrigued and excited by the notoriety of inmates like Hamza, the report says.
Other key failings the think tank found include Algerian extremist and orchestrator of the 1995 Paris Metro bombings Rachid Ramda being allowed to lead Friday prayers at the prison in 2005.
In the same year fellow extremist Abu Doha was given a course at Belmarsh enabling him to become a mentor and advisor to other prisoners.
Tariq Al-Dour, jailed for running jihadist websites from London, has been caught building a website from inside Belmarsh having been illicitly accessing the internet using a laptop supplied by the prison, the authors claim.
Report author James Brandon said: “The prison service has taken some steps towards tackling extremism but these are not enough.
“Islamist extremists are running rings around a prison service which often seems clueless about the nature of the extremist threat.”
A spokesman for the prison service said: “We are extremely skilled in managing all challenging and dangerous criminals, and adapting to evolving risks and dangers.
“We run a dedicated, expert unit which leads work to tackle the risk of extremism and radicalisation in prison.
“All our high-security prisons operate enhanced monitoring and intelligence-gathering on those convicted or suspected of involvement in terrorism or extremism.”
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