The cause of the death of a convicted terrorist who was found dead on the floor of a County Durham prison is still unknown.
Munir Ahmed Farooqi, 69, died in HMP Frankland on September 27, an inquest opening at Crook Coroners Court was told.
His son, daughter and two friends from Manchester attended the hearing before area coroner Crispin Oliver.
HMP Frankland, County Durham (Image: The Northern Echo)
Coroners officer Emily Bourne said: "I understand the circumstances to be that Mr Farooqi was found deceased on the floor of his cell."
Farooqi was born in Pakistan in 1957 and was identified by his daughter, the inquest heard.
A post-mortem examination was carried out by Dr Sam Hoggard at Newcastle's RVI mortuary on September 28.
The cause of death was recorded as 'unknown pending histology and toxicology'.
The full post-mortem results are expected to take around six months or longer, with the provisional cause of death still pending.
The inquest was opened at Crook Coroners' Court (Image: Contributor)
During the hearing the family raised concerns that 'there were significant health neglect in his case' and 'in prison systems'.
As with any death in prison, the Prison and Probation Ombudsman will conduct a full investigation into the circumstances.
The investigation is expected to report back by mid-February, pending the post-mortem results.
The inquest was adjourned until April 13, when a further hearing will be held at Crook to check on the progress of the investigation.
HMP Frankland, County Durham (Image: Newsquest)
Farooqi was jailed for life after being convicted of preparing for terrorism, soliciting to murder and disseminating terrorist publications.
Prosecutors said he led a group recruiting and radicalising vulnerable young men to take part in violent jihad in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
He ran a Da’wah stall in Manchester and became the focus of a covert police operation between November 2008 and November 2009.
Two undercover officers, known as Ray and Simon, posed as vulnerable individuals interested in Islam and recorded conversations with Farooqi and his associates.
Farooqi was convicted of five offences following a trial at Manchester Crown Court in 2011.
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He received a life sentence with a minimum term of nine years for preparing for acts of terrorism, alongside concurrent life sentences with minimum terms of seven years for soliciting to murder and a four-year term for disseminating terrorist publications.
His convictions and sentence were challenged at the Court of Appeal amid serious criticism of his trial barrister, Lawrence McNulty.
But on September 30, 2013, the court dismissed the appeals, ruling the convictions were safe and the life sentence was appropriate.