intelligence services missed opportunities to stop the death of a man in Rochdale back in 2016 who was murdered by Islamic extremists who believed he was practicing black magic
On 18 February 2016, Jalal Uddin was brutally murdered by two young Islamists for no better reason than that he happened to practise a form of Islam they regarded as incompatible with their own violent and unforgiving ideology.
One of Mr Uddin’s killers, Mohammed Kadir, escaped from the UK before he could be arrested. His accomplice, Mohammed Syeedy, was convicted of Mr Uddin’s murder on 16 September 2016 and sentenced to life imprisonment.
A third man, Mohammed Syadul Hussain, was subsequently sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for assisting an offender by knowingly helping to fund Mohammed Kadir’s flight from the jurisdiction.
The Inquiry was established by the then Home Secretary on 9 November 2023 to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the murder of Jalal Uddin in 2016.
The report by His Honour Thomas Teague KC, concluded that a “serious blunder” led to two missed opportunities to detect or disrupt the activities of Mr Uddin’s killers before his death.
Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts, speaking on behalf of Counter Terrorism Policing North West, said: “Our thoughts today are with the family and loved ones of Jalal Uddin.
“Jalal was a beloved and respected Islamic scholar who was well known in the community, and his murder in 2016 had a profound impact on many people. It was a tragic incident born out of the deep-rooted extremist views held by Mohammed Kadir and Mohammed Syeedy.
“This was an act of extremist violence that has no place in Greater Manchester. Syeedy is rightly serving a life sentence in prison for his actions, and we are prepared to take swift action against Kadir should he return to the UK.
“I would like to thank His Honour Thomas Teague KC for his thorough and sensitive approach to this inquiry. I welcome his comprehensive report and accept his conclusions.
“Whilst it will be of little comfort to Mr Uddin’s family, we are appreciative that His Honour Teague KC has recognised the significant changes and improvements we have made to investigative practices that have already been implemented since the murder.
“We will now take the opportunity to reflect upon the content of both the open and closed reports further.”
