By PNW Staff
September 10, 2026
The #prison no longer controls the wing. The gang does.
#Islamist power offers inmates a compelling package: #protection from #enemies, #membership in a #brotherhood, a new #identity and a cause larger than themselves. For men who are #lonely, #angry, #frightened or facing years behind bars, that offer can be #enormously #attractive. Once inside the group, however, belonging may require #obedience—to the emir, to the gang’s rules and eventually to its #ideology.
Two #notorious #terrorists #demonstrate where that path can lead. Usman Khan spent years intimidating staff, #attempting to #convert #prisoners and acting as an Islamist leader behind bars. After his release, he #murdered Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones at Fishmongers’ Hall in 2019. Sudesh Amman also participated in efforts to convert inmates before being released and #stabbing two #people in Streatham in 2020.
Britain sent dangerous men into prison and allowed some of them to become more #influential, more #radical and more capable of recruiting others.