Mohammad Bashir, 31, received a life sentence at Manchester Crown Court after pleading guilty to preparing an act of terrorism. He will be eligible for release only after serving a minimum of 17 years in prison. The prosecution characterized him as a determined extremist committed to violent ideology.
Bashir’s plot came to light during an investigation into an attack at a Manchester synagogue in October. His associate, Jihad Al-Shamie, drove a vehicle into people gathered outside the Heaton Park Congregation Synagogue and subsequently fatally stabbed one man. A second man died after being inadvertently shot by police officers who were responding to the incident. Three additional individuals were hospitalized with serious injuries. Al-Shamie, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, was killed by police at the scene.
Investigation revealed that two months before the synagogue attack, Bashir had driven Al-Shamie to the U.K.’s Defense Academy at Shrivenham in Oxfordshire to conduct reconnaissance. The two men discussed entry methods, weapons selection, and planned to use a fake suicide vest as part of their planned assault. The judge noted during sentencing that both men anticipated becoming martyrs and intended to inflict mass casualties. However, prosecutors found no evidence that Bashir participated in the actual synagogue attack.
Bashir departed the United Kingdom two days after the October attack and was arrested at Manchester airport in November upon returning from a family wedding in Pakistan. Greater Manchester Police subsequently disclosed that messages between the two men were found on phones seized from Al-Shamie during separate arrests earlier in 2025. The police department apologized for not reviewing the available data before the attack occurred, acknowledging it represented a missed opportunity. The Independent Office for Police Conduct is expected to evaluate whether earlier discovery of the messages could have prevented the fatal incident.
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