‘Dangerous’ inmate convicted of attempts to kill prison officers

One of Britain’s most dangerous inmates has been convicted of a string of attacks on prison officers with homemade plastic weapons.

Aklakar Rahman, 38, had repeatedly attacked staff at HMS Swaleside in Kent and high-security Belmarsh jail, south London, in September and October 2022, the Old Bailey has heard.

He was already serving a life sentence for earlier prison attacks after being jailed for Class A drugs offences in 2015.

During his latest trial, he made a series of admissions to the jury, and went on to admit five charges of attempted wounding.

A jury deliberated for nine hours and 33 minutes to find him guilty of four more, serious alternative charges of attempted murder.

He also admitted six attempted assaults on emergency workers and three charges of possessing sharpened pieces of plastic in prison.

At the time of the offences, the defendant was serving a life sentence for three earlier attempted murders and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, jurors heard.

In the summer of 2017, he attacked one inmate and two officers at HMP Wayland, HMP Lincoln and HMP Wakefield, using improvised weapons to stab at his victims’ heads and necks, the court was told.

Rahman had originally been jailed two years before, in November 2015, and ordered to serve six years and four months for drugs offences.

He had pleading guilty at Ipswich Crown Court to two charges of possessing class A drugs heroin and cocaine with intent to supply and one charge of being concerned in the supply of heroin.

At his latest trial, prosecutor Alistair Richardson had said Rahman was a “highly dangerous man”.

He had repeatedly expressed a desire to kill prison officers, whom he regarded as “kuffar”, a derogatory term for non-Muslims.

On September 23 2022, the defendant had been detained in the high-security segregation unit at HMP Swaleside over concerns he was trying to radicalise other inmates to “extreme versions of Islam”, the court was told.

While being escorted to a shower, he punched one officer and stabbed another in the forehead with a pen, the court heard.

He went on to punch a third officer in the stomach and stamp on the foot of a fourth after they went to help their colleagues.

During an attempt to retrieve a homemade weapon, the defendant tried to stab an officer in the neck, jurors had heard.

After he was moved to high security Belmarsh prison, he tried to kill three prison officers on October 23 2022, the court was told.

He stabbed one of them in the head and neck, and cut two more officers’ necks amid attempts to restrain him.

On being ordered to open his hand, the defendant was seen with the bottom of a plastic spoon that had been sharpened, the court heard.

Mrs Justice McGowan adjourned sentencing to March 28.