A convicted murderer serving a life sentence has had four additional years added to his term after launching an unprovoked attack on a prison officer at HMP Whitemoor, stabbing him repeatedly in the head, face and neck with a plastic knife.
Moustapha Dia, 28, approached the officer as he was locking doors on the wing of the Cambridgeshire prison at around 2pm on 19 October 2024. After whispering something to the officer, Dia grabbed him into a headlock and began stabbing him with the improvised weapon. The assault continued until other officers intervened and disarmed him.
The injured officer was taken to Peterborough City Hospital, where he was treated for concussion and a number of cuts to his face and neck. Dia had already been serving a life sentence for the murder of his sister-in-law at the time of the attack.
Dia denied both charges and stood trial at Huntingdon Law Courts in January, where a jury found him guilty of possession of an offensive weapon in prison and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He returned to the same court on 12 March, where the four-year extension to his existing life sentence was imposed.
Investigating officer DC Emma Purser described the assault as “ferocious and cowardly,” noting that Dia had targeted an officer considerably smaller in stature than himself. “There is no doubt that prison officers do a difficult job in challenging circumstances, and this attack will no doubt have a lasting psychological impact on the victim, who was just trying to do his job,” she said, adding that the intent behind the attack had clearly been to cause far greater harm than the injuries ultimately sustained.
HMP Whitemoor, located near March in Cambridgeshire, is a high-security facility housing some of England’s most dangerous offenders. Dia will now serve the additional term on top of his existing life sentence, with the extended period reflecting the severity of the assault on a prison officer carrying out routine duties.
