A convicted murderer was beaten up in a revenge attack in Wakefield Jail by Muslim prisoners because of his army service in Afghanistan, a jury was told.

Jeremy Green was a former army lieutenant whose history, and sentencing on April 7 last year for murder and attempted murder, was widely reported, said Tony Kelbrick prosecuting.

He told Leeds Crown Court prisoners had access to the news including that he had served in Afghanistan.

Two weeks later on April 21 he was attacked after leaving the gym at the prison and remembered hearing one his attackers shouting: “He has killed Taliban.”

He was left with a broken nose and an undisplaced fracture to the bone below his eye.

Mr Kelbrick told the jury: “It is the Crown’s case that the attack, some two weeks after the conviction, is clearly linked to the complainant’s former profession and service and is effectively a revenge attack.”

Mantu Asiedu, 42, Barrington Denny, 26, Adam Mac, 30, Jewel Uddin, 29, and Shah Rahmin, 22, each deny causing grievous bodily harm to Green at HMP Wakefield on 21 April last year.

The jury was told all the defendants are Muslim. Uddin was convicted in June 2013 of an offence of engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts, that Rahman was convicted of a similar offence in February 2012, Asiedu was convicted in November 2007 of doing an act with an intent to cause an explosion with intent to endanger life or property.

Denny was convicted in December 2011 of murder and Mac in the same month was convicted of three offences of robbery and one of attempted robbery.

Mr Kelbrick alleged the attack happened in an L shaped corridor leading from the gym.

Prisoners would leave the gym, the door would be locked behind them isolating them in the corridor until the door the other end was opened to let them back into the general prison.

No prison officer accompanied Green and the five defendants into the corridor on that day so after making the right turn all were effectively out of sight of the authorities and it was then the alleged attack took place.

Mr Kelbrick said Mac had left the gym first followed by Green who was surprised to see him then walk back a short way after they rounded the corner.

Out of the corner of his eye Green then saw Denny running towards him and claimed he was punched by him heavily to the cheek. Asiedu then arrived and was joined by Uddin and Rahman.

Mr Kelbrick told the jury Green was by now backed into a corner and surrounded by at least three of the defendants who were “raining blows on him.”

He decided to try and break away from the group and partially succeeded but was confronted by Mac who had been behind the others and he allegedly punched him on the nose.

By this time Green’s cries had alerted a gym officer who went to his assistance. He tried to get between the attackers and Green but the attack continued with “kicks and stamps from Uddin, Rahman and Asiedu.”

Other officers arrived and the attack was halted. Green was taken to the chapel area while Uddin, Rahman and Asiedu were escorted to the segregation wing where their clothing was seized.

Mac and Denny were initially herded back towards the gym and other prisoners but when their involvement became apparent they too were taken to the segregation wing.

Mr Kelbrick said when questioned Uddin gave a prepared statement saying he had acted in self- defence. Mac said he was not involved in the incident but had heard Green say something like “Here comes the Taliban” and that was followed by fighting.

In their defence statements Uddin maintained that account saying he had been attacked by Green, Rahman also said he was acting in self-defence having been attacked.

Asiendu maintained Green was the aggressor and he acted with the sole intention of breaking the trouble up and stop the fighting. Denny said all he had done was pull one of his fellow prisoners away and Mac said he had taken no part in what had happened explaining blood on him by saying it was a narrow corridor.

Mr Kelbrick told the jury it would be for them to decide if Green had made the comment “here comes the Taliban” to the other four as Muslims as Mac suggested or whether it was Green “who was attacked by them for the reason I have suggested.”

He said it was the Crown’s case they had not been acting in self-defence.

The trial continues.