Express Train to National Suicide: Early Release for Islamist Terrorist in Britain (Updated)

Really, what can you say about something like this other than wishing the people good luck in their dying days.

The insanity of it all is breathtaking.

A convicted Islamist terrorist who was caught trying to smuggle blueprints into Britain showing how to build a missile has been released from prison early under the Government’s controversial plans to ease prison overcrowding.

Yassin Nassari, a Category A prisoner who was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment last summer, was released early from Wakefield prison last month, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) confirmed today.

The disclosure is likely to re-ignite the row over the Government’s early release scheme which is designed to allow “non-violent” offenders out of jail early in order to curb overcrowding.

The move is believed to be the first time that a convicted terrorist has been released under the scheme. The MoJ said that Nassari’s release 17 days early was justified because he had not been convicted of an offence involving “serious violence”.

Nassari, 28 and from Ealing, West London, was jailed for three-and-a-half years at the Old Bailey last July for possession of material that would be useful to terrorists. He had been stopped at Luton airport after getting off a flight from Holland.

In their luggage was a letter his wife Bouchra el-Hor had written urging him to fight “jihad” and saying she hoped their five-month-old son would also be martyred.

She was cleared of withholding information after saying that the letter was a piece of “creative writing” brought on by a failing marriage.

The court heard how Nassari had shared extremist videos with a member of another terrorist cell which provided information over the internet on suicide vests, car bombs, booby traps and poisons.

Police found jihadi material on his laptop and removable hard drive, including blueprints for an Al-Qassam rocket which has been used by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

It's not just terror suspects being freed to prey upon the innocent.

More than 18,500 prisoners have been freed under the scheme since it was introduced by Jack Straw, the Justice secretary, last June.

They included more than 3,500 violent offenders, 1,730 burglars, 400 robbers and 790 people jailed for drug offences.

His original sentence was lenieint enough. Now he walks early.

Just wonderful.

Update: Good news, bad news.

A ban on terrorists being released early from jail was announced tonight after Times Online revealed that a convicted terrorist was freed 17 days early under plans to ease overcrowding.

Jack Straw, Justice Secretary, was forced to alter Government policy
after today’s revelation that Yassin Nassari was freed from a maximum security prison just seven months after a three-and-a-half-year sentence was handed down.

The controversial early release scheme, known as end of custody licence (ECL), was introduced last year to create more space in the UK’s overcrowded prisons. The Government insisted that only “non-violent” offenders would be freed early, but Nassari was convicted of trying to smuggle missile blueprints into the country.

The Ministry of Justice announced this evening that a second man
convicted of terrorism offences had also been released early.