12-year term for British terrorist
A Briton described by prosecutors as a terrorism “Mr. Fix-It” who recruited young people to Al Qaeda’s ideology over the Internet was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in prison, and one of his accomplices was sentenced to a 10-year term.
Aabid Hussain Khan and Sultan Muhammad, both 23, were found guilty Monday of possessing a vast array of information that included extremist propaganda and guides on how to make poisons and suicide vests.
“Aabid Khan was very much the ‘Mr Fix-It’ of the group,” said Karen Jones of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Counter Terrorism Division.
“He preyed on vulnerable young people and turned them into recruits to his cause, using Internet chat rooms to lure them in, then incite them to fight,” she said.
One of those he recruited was Hammaad Munshi, 18, who was convicted along with Khan, making him the youngest Briton ever to be found guilty of terrorism crimes, prosecutors said.
He was just 15 when he met Khan and 16 when he was arrested by anti-terrorism detectives.
Blackfriars Crown Court heard that the three men were “facilitators” who provided information on terrorist techniques, training, weapons and explosives.
Police said Khan arranged for those he recruited to travel to Pakistan for terrorism training.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
