Two men accused of plotting to kill Jewish people in Manchester planned to cause “untold harm”, a court has heard. Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, are alleged to have prepared acts of terrorism between December 13, 2023 and May 9, 2024.
The charge against them alleges that they “arranged for the purchase and delivery of firearms, conducted reconnaissance and made plans of attack”. Opening the prosecution case at Preston Crown Court on Wednesday, Harpreet Sandhu KC showed footage of Walid Saadaoui standing by the open boot of a car in a hotel car park in Bolton, Greater Manchester, before he ran away from approaching counter-terrorism police officers.
The prosecutor said: “In the car he ran away from were two assault rifles, a semi-automatic pistol and almost 200 rounds of ammunition.”
Mr Sandhu said the defendant was also awaiting delivery of a further two assault rifles, another pistol and at least 700 more rounds of ammunition.
He told the jury: “Those firearms are fierce weapons. The assault rifles are capable of firing several hundred rounds of ammunition per minute.
“They are the type of firearms used in many terrorist attacks, including attacks in Paris in 2015 when approximately 130 people were killed and hundreds of people were injured.
“The firearms and ammunition Walid Sadaaoui was about to receive were capable of causing untold harm.
“Untold harm was precisely what Walid Sadaaoui had planned to cause together with Amar Hussein.”
Mr Sandhu’s address to the jury was then interrupted by an outburst from Hussein who repeatedly shouted: “Don’t talk shit.”
From the dock, Hussein added: “How many children? How many babies?”
Trial judge Mr Justice Wall asked the jury to leave the courtroom as the proceedings were interrupted.
He later apologised to jurors for the “disturbance” as the case resumed and said Hussein did not wish to return in court for the rest of the prosecution opening.
Earlier, the judge said 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. For the purposes of this trial, it is irrelevant.
“You are here to try the defendants fairly on the evidence.”
A third defendant, Walid’s brother Bilel Saadaoui, 36, is also on trial over an allegation he failed to disclose information about acts of terrorism on the same dates.
Walid Saadaoui, of Abram, Wigan; Bilel Saadaoui, of Hindley, Wigan; and Hussein, of no fixed abode, deny the allegations.
The trial is scheduled to last up to 12 weeks.
Mr Sandhu said: “Walid Saadaoui was about to receive those firearms and that ammunition because he and Amar Hussein were planning terrorist attacks.
“They planned to kill. They planned to cause mass fatalities. In particular, they planned to kill as many members of the Jewish community as they could, especially those in the north west of England.
“Their plan was to get the weapons and ammunition and identify a mass-gathering of Jewish people whom they could attack. They had also identified areas in Greater Manchester with a large Jewish population to attack.
“In addition, they intended to kill any law enforcement or police officers who got in their way.”
Both men were Islamic extremists, he said, and were prepared to risk their own lives.
Mr Sandhu said they believed they were planning their attacks with a third man called Farouk who they thought shared their extremist views.
However, Farouk was an undercover operative, the court heard.
The prosecutor continued: “Their plans were laid bare through their communication with Farouk and, as a result, the police were able to stop those plans from becoming a tragic reality.”
Bilal Saadaoui was not planning to take part in the terrorist attacks but knew what his brother was up to and sympathised with the views of the Islamic State, said the prosecutor.
Mr Sandhu said that Walid Saadoui, in preparing to “martyr himself”, had prepared a will and left a copy with his brother, along with access to his belongings and tens of thousands of pounds in cash to help provide for his family.
During the time of the allegations Hussein worked at Salim Appliances in Grecian Crescent, Bolton, and also effectively lived there, the court also heard.