Abdullah Albadri is accused of plotting a terror attack at the Israeli embassy in Kensington on April 28, 2025, according to court proceedings. He attempted to break into the Israeli embassy armed with two knives and a martyrdom note. The martyrdom note, knives, and material from his phone demonstrated his intention to use violence and sacrifice his life for God, prosecutor Catherine Pattison told the court.
Albadri was stopped by armed police after leaping on a fence surrounding the embassy, multiple reports indicate. He calmly approached the railings outside the embassy and jumped on them in an attempt to climb over, according to two sources. The Old Bailey heard that Albadri was 'almost successful in his attempt' to break into the embassy. He was pulled down by armed diplomatic protection officers PC Nicholas Cox and PC Libby Chessor, then held down and handcuffed by five officers, multiple reports confirm.
The prosecution case alleges Albadri intended to 'use or threaten serious violence against the Israeli government, to exact revenge for its alleged murder of children', the court heard. He started researching the location of the Israeli Embassy on April 24, 2025, according to prosecutor Catherine Pattison. Albadri searched in Arabic for weapons including a Palestinian sniper, multiple reports indicate.
Albadri's defense case is likely to be that he was not trying to enter the embassy for a terrorist purpose and carried knives 'for a good reason' unrelated to his activities that day. The specific nature of this 'good reason' has not been publicly disclosed by the defense team.
A man has been charged with a terror offence over an incident at the Israeli embassy in London, according to police. Abdullah Sabah Albadri has been charged with preparation of terrorist acts and two counts of possession of a pointed or bladed article, research from two sources confirms. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court, wearing a black sweatshirt and grey trousers, and was remanded in custody ahead of his next appearance on 7 May. Albadri was arrested by officers from the Met's Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command at around 6pm on Monday, according to research from two sources.
The Israeli embassy said in a post on X 'there was an attempted terror attack from an armed man with a knife'. The embassy thanked British security forces for their immediate response and ongoing efforts to secure the embassy and confirmed all staff and visitors were safe. Commander Dominic Murphy, Head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, said they remain in close contact with those based at the Embassy of Israel and do not believe there is any wider threat to the public.
Albadri arrived in Dover via a small boat in 2021 and applied for permission to remain. He re-entered the UK on a small boat from France in April 2025, just days before the embassy attack, multiple reports indicate. On April 24, 2025, Albadri told an associate the Home Office had refused his asylum claim and he lacked money for a train ticket to Liverpool for an appeal, according to multiple sources. In the UK, Albadri found temporary accommodation at an asylum seekers' hotel in Basingstoke but was told he could not stay there, he told jurors.
Albadri was born into the stateless Arabian Bedoon tribe on the border between Iraq and Kuwait, with no human rights or passport in Kuwait, he told jurors. His father, a police officer, paid for his education until he was 18, and he later became a human rights activist. Albadri was 'brutally arrested' for handing out flyers, spent five years in prison with beatings and sleeping on the floor, according to his testimony.
Albadri decided to travel to the UK for prosperity, freedom, and human rights he saw on television, he told jurors. His first journey to Dover was on a small boat with 83 people in August 2021, where he gave his life jacket to a child. He tried to hitch-hike from London to Manchester but fell asleep in a lorry and woke up in France. In France, Albadri was granted residency status and worked as a driver in Lyon, learned French, paid taxes, but was refused citizenship. For his next journey to the UK in April 2025, Albadri paid £1,200 to armed smugglers to transport him back to Dover in a boat with 63 others.
On the day of the attack, Albadri walked from Kilburn to the Israeli embassy on April 28, 2025, wearing a red-and-white Palestinian scarf and sunglasses for the hour-long journey, multiple reports indicate. He WhatsApped his mother a picture of a handwritten note next to a knife with a red-and-white handle earlier that day, according to two sources.
Officers first became aware of Albadri when he knocked on the window of a Kuwaiti embassy car, according to two sources.
Albadri failed to attend a Home Office interview in 2023, multiple reports indicate.
The incident has raised security concerns about diplomatic protection measures in London.
Several key details remain unknown, including the exact content of the martyrdom note beyond the general message about supporting Allah. The defense's claimed 'good reason' for carrying the knives unrelated to terrorism has not been specified in court documents.
Additional uncertainties surround whether there were any injuries or damages during the attempted break-in at the embassy. The current status of Albadri's asylum application and any appeals has not been confirmed by official sources.