Isa Ibrahim was educated at posh schools that cost his parents tens of thousands every year, but he spiralled out of control and was jailed after planning to bomb a shopping centre
A posh schoolboy who once planned to kill people at a busy shopping centre could be out of jail soon. Andrew Michael, known as Isa Ibrahim, was jailed in 2009 when cops found he was plotting a suicide bombing at Bristol’s Broadmead shopping centre only a “matter of hours or days” before he carried out his awful planned attack.
Authorities were tipped off by a member of the local muslim community about Ibrahim, who hoped to blow himself up with a suicide vest after he began to idolise the 7/7 bombers and Al-Qaeda monster Osama Bin Laden. Ibrahim would also watch speeches by Islamist militant leader Omar Bakri Muhammad and former Finsbury Park cleric Abu Hamza.
But nearly 16 years after he was convicted at Winchester Crown Court in July 2009, Ibrahim could soon be released from jail. The Mail Online reported that Ibrahim, 36, is up for parole.
“We can confirm the parole review of Isa Ibrahim has been referred to the Parole Board by the Secretary of State for Justice and is following standard processes,” a Parole Board spokesperson said. “’Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.”
The spokesperson said a panel will “carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims”. There are hundreds of pages of evidence set to be reviewed ahead of an oral hearing.
The spokesperson added: “Evidence from witnesses such as probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements may be given at the hearing. It is standard for the prisoner and witnesses to be questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more.
“Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority. ‘A decision on Ibrahim’s case is expected over coming weeks.”
The son of Christian parents who lived in a Bristol mansion worth £1 million, Ibrahim had a lavish upbringing. His father, born in Egypt, was a consultant pathologist in the NHS and his older brother became a software engineer after graduating from Oxford.
But despite the luxury lifestyle in the family’s gated mansion in Frenchay, Bristol, Ibrahim developed a drug habit – he first took cannabis aged just 12 – and was expelled from three different private schools including the £19,065-a-year Colston’s School and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital school which has fees of £9,885-a-year. The even pricier Roman Catholic Downside School in Bath, where Ibrahim was a boarder, cost his family £24,141-a-year.
Eventually, Ibrahim managed to get good grades and received nine GCSEs while he was a pupil at the Bristol Cathedral School, which costs £7,500-a-year. Ibrahim then moved to be a student at the City of Bristol College.
After his conversion to Islam, Ibrahim was sentenced to an indeterminate prison sentence with a minimum term of ten years when he was found guilty of making an explosive with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury and preparation of terrorist acts.
He had made an explosive vest in his flat and also carried out surveillance of Broadmead. It was found that he hoped to achieve maximum damage using ball bearings and nails in his vest, purchasing the items he needed from high street shops.
Thankfully, worried members of the Al-Baseera mosque in Bristol reported the injuries Ibrahim suffered from testing his explosives. They told police about their concerns over his extreme views and that he was acting suspiciously.
It is understood to be the first time a potential terrorist was brought to justice by members of the muslim community playing a key role. Ibrahim was not on the radar of security services at the time.
When police searched his home, the floor crackled under officers’ feet because of the huge amount of explosive powder in his flat. Cops found Hexamethylene Triperoxide Diamine (HMTD) an explosive substance used in the 7/7 attacks, an incomplete suicide vest, films of Ibrahim testing the explosives and an electrical circuit capable of being used as a detonator.
A controlled explosion had to be carried out at the flat, where a radical book advocating jihad was also found. Detective Chief Inspector Matt Iddon said Ibrahim’s kitchen had become an “explosive laboratory”.
He said: “He identified that the [Broadmead] food court was a dense area. It’s full of families – husband, wives, children, groups of young friends – relaxing and enjoying the day. He intended to blow himself up there.”
Trial judge Mr Justice Butterfield said Ibrahim was an “angry young person” and said he was “well capable” carrying out an attack. Ibrahim had said he did not intend to harm anyone, said he had trouble making friends and even talked to teddy bears as an adult.