Friend of terrorist who wanted to kill PM found guilty of ISIS travel plan
THE Birmingham friend of an Islamic State extremist who plotted to assassinate Prime Minister Theresa May has himself been found guilty of preparing to join terrorists abroad.
Mohammed Aqib Imran, 22, from Sparkhill, made arrangements to travel for jihad, around the time Naa’imur Zakariyah Rahman, 21, was set on a suicide attack on the heart of Government.
Rahman, also from Birmingham, helped his friend by recording an IS sponsorship video for him, the Old Bailey heard.
But the pair were snared by a network of online role-players from the Met Police, MI5 and the FBI.
Rahman’s plans to kill Theresa May were scuppered when undercover officers handed him a jacket and rucksack packed with fake explosives.
Following a trial in July, he was convicted of preparing acts of terrorism, and Imran was found guilty of possessing a terrorist handbook. In August, Rahman was jailed for life with a minimum term of 30 years.
He also pleaded guilty during his trial to assisting Imran in the preparation of terrorist acts by recording a sponsorship video.
Following a retrial, former student Imran was further found guilty of preparing acts of terrorism abroad on or before November 28, 2017.
Prosecutor Mark Heywood QC said: “At the heart of this case is a developing radicalisation in the minds of two men who came to know each other online and afterwards met and began to collaborate.
“Both thought about travelling abroad to further their cause, going to a conflict zone such as Syria to lend support to violence.
“Each also contemplated carry- ing out terrorist here in the UK.
“Mohammed Imran elected to travel and set about assembling money, acquiring a fake passport, engaging in research and otherwise equipping himself with the information and means to travel aboard for violence for terrorist purposes
“Naa’imur Rahman’s conclusion was that lethal violence here, directed at the very heart of the UK Government, was the only effective way to pursue his intentions.
“Before his arrest prevented it, he was, he believed, just days away from his objective, which was no less than a suicide attack by blade and explosion, on Downing Street and, if he could, upon Prime Minister Theresa May herself.”
The court heard how Imran’s preferred destination was Libya or possibly Jordan with a view to onward travel to Syria. He had saved money to pay for a fake passport and researched travel options, the court heard.
He downloaded the manual How to Survive in the West – a Mujahid’s Guide 2015 with a view to joining IS, the jury was told.
Imran denied the charge against him, claiming he only wanted to get married to a woman in Denmark. The jury deliberated for less than 18 hours to find him guilty of preparing to engage in acts of terrorism. He will be sentenced on January 25. acts of violence