The UK's Counter Terrorism Policing North West charged Hekmat Omar Ali Hakim, 49, on August 20 with failing to disclose information regarding terrorist activity under section 38B of the Terrorism Act 2000. Police said the charge directly relates to the October 2, 2025, attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester.

Hakim, an Iraqi national, was remanded to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on August 21. Police have not published the information he allegedly withheld, when he obtained it or the evidence supporting the charge, and APPI News could not find an official report of the hearing's outcome at the time of writing.

The charge concerns an alleged failure to report

Section 38B applies when a person has information they know or believe might materially help prevent another person from committing an act of terrorism or secure another person's apprehension, prosecution or conviction in the United Kingdom for an offense involving the commission, preparation or instigation of a terrorist act. A person commits the offense by failing to disclose that information to police as soon as reasonably practicable; the statute provides a reasonable-excuse defense.

The published allegation concerns an alleged failure to report information. The police announcement does not state that Hakim carried out or planned the synagogue attack, and the charge has not been tested in court.

Police did not name the person arrested in May

Counter Terrorism Policing said officers arrested an unnamed 49-year-old man in Salford on May 26 on suspicion of the same section 38B offense and released him on bail on May 27. Police said the suspected offense directly related to the synagogue attack and that the investigation remained active.

The May release did not identify the arrested person. APPI News therefore could not verify from the published police notices whether that person and Hakim are the same individual.

Two victims died during the attack and police response

Counter Terrorism Policing said Jihad Al-Shamie returned in a car about 15 minutes after synagogue security challenged him, drove at members of the public, struck a wall and continued the attack with a knife. Police said he carried a second knife and wore a hoax device, but security staff and worshippers prevented him from entering the synagogue.

The UK's Independent Office for Police Conduct said Al-Shamie died after armed officers shot him and that an early examination indicated police gunfire caused Adrian Daulby's fatal wound and another man's nonfatal wound. Counter Terrorism Policing said Daulby and Melvin Cravitz died, while three other men were treated in hospital for serious injuries and had all been released by the August 20 charging update.

The August 21 court result was not public

The charging notice gives the statutory label but no account of the information Hakim allegedly possessed. APPI News could not locate a published charge sheet or an official result from the scheduled hearing when this report was prepared.

Police said Hakim had been remanded for the August 21 hearing and described the wider attack investigation as continuing. Until a court publishes more detail, the public record does not establish what Hakim allegedly knew or whether any defense will be raised.