Londoner jailed for glorifying terrorism on online platforms

A LONDONER has been jailed for four years for glorifying terrorism on online platforms.

Mohammad Zubair Khan pleaded guilty to multiple terrorism offences at the Old Bailey after initially denying any wrongdoing.

He came under the lens of Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) officers in June 2021 after a video produced by a proscribed terrorist organisation had been posted on a Twitter handle linked to him.

Khan, 22, was arrested under the Terrorism Act as investigators also discovered that he had downloaded extremist material - Islamist terrorism propaganda videos, featuring Daesh fighters and depicting extreme violence - and shared them on messaging apps.

He was also found to have praised the activities of terrorist groups abroad.

In November last year, Khan was charged with eight counts of dissemination of terrorist material and he pleaded guilty just before the trial was slated to begin. His sentencing took place on Friday (9).

Scotland Yard has urged people to be alert about online radicalisation attempts by extremist groups.

Its Counter Terrorism Command leader Dominic Murphy said terrorist groups like Daesh produced online content in their bid to radicalise and recruit vulnerable people and encourage them to commit terrorist acts.

He called on members of the public to report to the force via www.gov.uk/report-terrorism if they came across any extremist content online.

“We will investigate where appropriate, and act to get this dangerous propaganda taken down,” Murphy said.