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I thought he was going to carve me up like a Sunday roast, says prison guard taken hostage by Muslim gang demanding release of Abu Qatada
- Richard Thompson said he thought his captors would 'sacrifice' him
- Feroz Khan, David Watson and Fuad Awale accused of false imprisonment
- Group 'demanded release of Abu Qatada in exchange for Thompson'
- It happened four days after murder of Drummer Lee Rigby last year
PUBLISHED: 07:19 EST, 20 February 2014 | UPDATED: 08:20 EST, 20 February 2014
A prison guard held at knifepoint was left fearing a gang of Muslim prisoners were ready to carve him up 'like a Sunday roast', a court heard.
Richard Thompson said he thought his captors would 'sacrifice' him four days after the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby in May last year.
He told Woolwich Crown Court that the prisoners held him hostage for nearly five hours in a cleaning office on E Wing of HMP Full Sutton, near York.
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Claims: The judge said demands were made for the release of Abu Qatada (pictured), adding that the men allegedly insisted the requests be broadcast by the media
Jurors heard the gang wrongly believed Mr Thompson, who has been a guard at the maximum security prison for 11 years, was ex-military.
The guard said: 'He approached me, pushed something sharp into my throat and said, "I have killed two people. I will kill you. I will kill you".'
The Times reported he added: 'I saw Awale playing with the knives. At one stage he was rubbing the knives together, rather like someone who was preparing to carve up a Sunday roast.'
Feroz Khan, 26, Fuad Awale, 26, and David Watson, 27, allegedly captured Mr Thompson just four days after the murder of Drummer Rigby in Woolwich, south-east London.
Khan led the attack after walking out of Friday prayers at the prison's chapel and 'slamming the door' on the imam who offered his condolences to the dead soldier's family.
He went round Muslim inmates' cells one by one to speak to them over the next two days and then held Mr Thompson hostage for nearly five hours, the court heard.
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The alleged incident took place at HMP Full Sutton in North Yorkshire just days after the murder of Lee Rigby
He battered the prison officer, fracturing his eye socket before threatening to kill the guard, jurors heard.
Colleague Rachel Oxtoby was also left with 'extensive bruising' after she was assaulted by Khan, it was said.
Relations between staff and Muslim inmates at Full Sutton had become 'strained' following Drummer Rigby's death last May 22.
Mr Thompson told jurors that he was 'surprised' to see Khan return so early from Friday prayers on May 24 - the inmate claimed he had to leave because of hayfever.
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The incident allegedly happened four days after murder of Drummer Lee Rigby (pictured) last year
'I asked him why he had returned at that time. He stated that the windows were open in the chapel and it was causing some irritation to his eyes', Mr Thompson said.
'I received a phone call from the officers that had been on duty in the chapel who told us that Khan and two other prisoners had stormed out of prayers and slammed the door when the imam had asked everyone to pray for Lee Rigby.
'We decided to try to monitor Khan's movements from the time we found this information out.
'From watching his movements he seemed to be going to Muslim prisoners speaking to them for five, ten minutes in cell then moving on to another group doing the same'.
Asked if this was a normal pattern of behaviour for Khan, Mr Thompson replied: 'No'.
Khan allegedly explained to a guard that he had walked out on prayers for Drummer Rigby because 'it was a Muslim's duty to fight until Sharia law is established in every country'.
Mr Thompson is said to have been taken hostage by Khan, Awale, and Watson just two days later on May 26, incorrectly believing him to be ex-British military.
They allegedly told officers that they would only free him in exchange for Abu Qatada and Roshonara Choudhry's release from prison, flights for the pair to Afghanistan, and for the nationwide broadcast of their demands.
Describing the three men, Mr Thompson said: 'Feroz Khan was generally polite, his behaviour was acceptable.
'Fuad Awale was quite reluctant to interact with anyone in the system as it were - he would only speak if he wanted something and it would be the odd word.
'David Watson, out of the three, was the one I had most interaction with. He tended to cook a lot for his friends and, as such, he would be a regular visitor to the office, in and out.
'He's a Muslim convert. He was quite reasonable with staff and would interact more so than others would be'.
The court heard that Awale held a homemade knife to Mr Thompson's throat while Watson pinned him down against a chair during the four-and-a-half-hour long siege.
Jurors were shown CCTV footage of dozens of officers in riot gear storming the area and throwing flash grenades in order to break up the hostage situation.
Khan denies false imprisonment, making threats to kill, causing grievous bodily harm and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Awale denies false imprisonment and making threats to kill, and Watson denies false imprisonment.
The trial continues.
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