- Friday, April 19, 2024
By: Keerthi Mohan
A MAN who left USB sticks containing terrorist propaganda inside shoes of Muslim worshippers outside mosques has been jailed.
Omar Ashfaq, who traveled to mosques in Luton, Derby, Loughborough, Coventry and Birmingham between May and June last year to leave extremist material, was on Tuesday jailed for four-and-a-half years, with another year of monitoring on licence.
Worshippers who found the memory sticks with propaganda material included a nine-year-old boy.
The 24-year-old, from Derby, was arrested after worshippers informed mosque authorities, who identified Ashfaq from CCTV footage and informed the police.
A search of his home uncovered numerous bags of USB sticks as well as notes outlining his plans.
Among the material were two videos entitled “ISIS children execute spies” and “ISIS burn Turkish Apostate soldiers.”
He admitted being in possession of three Daesh group propaganda magazines.
Deb Walsh from the CPS said: “Omar Ashfaq found a novel way to spread violent Daesh propaganda in the hope of encouraging British Muslims to commit terrorist acts.
“Instead the mosques he targeted found him on their CCTV recordings and handed in the footage and the memory sticks to the police.
“I want to thank them for acting quickly so the CPS had the crucial evidence we needed to encourage him to plead guilty.”
