Man accused of being connected to synagogue attacker appears in court

A 31-year-old man has appeared in court accused of transporting the individual who later attacked a synagogue in Manchester to a UK military facility for reconnaissance. Mohammad Asim Bashir is alleged to have driven Jihad Al-Shamie to the UK Defence Academy in Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, on 14 August, several weeks before the assault on Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation.

Bashir faces four terrorism-related charges following his arrest at Manchester Airport in November. The accusations concern preparatory acts and sharing extremist materials, though they are not directly linked to the synagogue incident, in which two worshippers lost their lives during Yom Kippur services on 2 October.

During a hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court, prosecutors stated that Bashir and Al-Shamie stopped at the defence academy for approximately 13 minutes. Additionally, authorities claim Bashir distributed terrorist content via WhatsApp between November and December 2024, allegedly aiming to incite terrorist acts.

Bashir appeared in court but was not required to enter any pleas. He has been remanded in custody and is scheduled to return to the Old Bailey on 12 December.

The synagogue attack resulted in the deaths of worshippers Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby, after Al-Shamie, a 35-year-old Syrian-born UK citizen, drove into the synagogue gates and carried out a knife attack while wearing a fake suicide vest.

Author: Harper Simmons