The terrorist who killed two people and wounded several others in an attack Friday on the London Bridge sought deradicalization help during a previous prison sentence.
Usman Khan, 28, was previously convicted of conspiring to blow up several London landmarks, including the stock exchange, Westminster Abbey, and the American embassy. From prison in 2012, Khan wrote a letter requesting help from someone who could assist in deradicalizing him from the extreme ideology of Islamic State jihadists. “I would like to do such a course so I can prove to the authorities, my family and soicity [sic] in general that I don’t carry the views I had before my arrest, and also I can prove that at the time I was immature,” he wrote at the time. “And now I am much more mature and want to live my life as a good Muslim and also a good citizen of Britain.”
Khan was sentenced to 16 years in prison for his involvement in the terrorist plot but was released after serving only six years for his crimes. While the Pakistani native was offered post-sentence help from British authorities, specific counseling meant to change the beliefs of criminals radicalized by ideology was not available.
Khan “requested intervention by a deradicalizer when he was in prison,” said Vajahat Sharif, Khan’s lawyer. “The only option was the probation service, and they cannot deal with these offenders. He asked me on the phone to get assistance from a specific deradicalizer … Probation [officers] do a good job with conventional offenders, but they can’t deal with ideological offenders.” Khan was involved in an education course through the prison system as the time of the attack on Friday.
After being subdued by several civilians, including one man wielding a narwhal tusk, Khan was shot dead by police Friday. The attack occurred just a few yards from where another terrorist knife attack took place on London Bridge in 2017.
