Overview
- Authorities confirmed this week that Aswat left Bethlem Royal Hospital and is expected to live with family in Batley while subject to Home Office reporting requirements.
- He was convicted in the United States in 2015 for helping to set up an extremist training camp in Oregon, was deported to the UK in 2022 and detained under the Mental Health Act at Broadmoor and Bethlem.
- Psychiatrists have diagnosed him with schizoaffective disorder and warned he has continued to express violent extremist views, according to reports to the High Court.
- Counterterrorism officers told the High Court he 'remains a risk to national security,' and the Home Office order will require him to report his address, vehicles and foreign travel but will not impose constant electronic surveillance.
- The release has drawn criticism from politicians and renewed debate over how authorities balance mental-health treatment, legal limits on detention and public safety with monitoring of terrorism-linked offenders.