A suspected Islamic extremist tried to kill five prison officers with homemade weapons including a sharpened plastic spoon because they are not Muslims, the Old Bailey has heard.
Aklakar Rahman, 38, is accused of repeated attacks on staff at HMS Swaleside in Kent and high-security south London Belmarsh jail in September and October 2022.
Prosecutor Alistair Richardson told jurors: “This highly dangerous man does not leave it to anybody else to work out what he is doing. He has repeatedly said that he wants to kill prison officers. Both before the attacks, at the time he attacks, and afterwards.
“He wants to kill prison officers, who he sees as ‘kuffar’, a derogatory term for non-Muslims.”
The court has heard Rahman had a history of using improvised weapons to try to kill prison officers by stabbing at their heads and necks.
He is currently on trial for 20 alleged offences, including five of attempted murder, six attempted assaults on an emergency worker, and possessing sharpened pieces of plastic.
At the time of the alleged attacks, Rahman was serving a life sentence for three earlier attempted murders and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, over incidents of violence at HMP Wayland, HMP Lincoln and HMP Wakefield in the summer of 2017.
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.
He was being escorted to a shower when he allegedly punched officer Lee Lassman in the face, shouted “Allahu Akhbar” and stabbed officer Ludovic Barbier in the forehead with a pen.
As he was restrained, the defendant allegedly continued to shout, stamp, kick and try to bite officers, jurors were told.
He went on to allegedly punch officer Dale Marsden in the stomach and stamp on officer Ross Greig’s foot after they went to help their colleagues.
The following day, Mr Lassman carried out a welfare check and found Rahman standing naked in his cell holding a three-inch piece of sharpened plastic, jurors heard.
During an attempt to retrieve the weapon, the defendant tried to stab officer Simon Lowman in the neck, it was alleged.
The day after, Rahman made a throat-cutting motion with an improvised weapon and shouted: “I’m going to put this in your eye”, it is alleged.
Rahman was moved to Belmarsh prison where he allegedly tried to kill prison officers Elizabeth Franklin, John Clark and Robert Salter on October 23 2022, the court was told.
The officers had gone to his cell to escort him to get his lunch when the defendant threw his bin at two of them and ran towards officer Franklin shouting “death to kuffar” and stabbing at her head and neck.
The defendant also cut the other two officers’ necks amid attempts to restrain him, jurors were told.
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.
A senior officer who ran to see what was going on allegedly heard Rahman shout: “I’ll kill you all. Die kuffars”, while still holding a weapon in his hand.
In a note, the defendant later explained he was angry with the prison established and had “lost it” and attacked prison officers who he felt were mocking him, jurors were told.
In a police interview, Rahman said in a statement that he did not intend to kill anyone, that he had been trying to provoke the officers and that his mental health was deteriorating.
Rahman denies all the charges against him. The trial continues.