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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Terror jail extension turned down | Terror jail extension turned down |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| The Attorney General has lost an appeal to extend the jail term of convicted would-be terrorist Sohail Qureshi. | The Attorney General has lost an appeal to extend the jail term of convicted would-be terrorist Sohail Qureshi. |
| Qureshi, 30, from Forest Gate, east London, is expected to be freed in about a year after the Court of Appeal refused to increase his sentence. | Qureshi, 30, from Forest Gate, east London, is expected to be freed in about a year after the Court of Appeal refused to increase his sentence. |
| He was jailed for four and a half years in January after he admitted planning to carry out a terrorist mission. | He was jailed for four and a half years in January after he admitted planning to carry out a terrorist mission. |
| The Lord Chief Justice said any direct link between Qureshi and actual acts of terrorism was "relatively remote". | The Lord Chief Justice said any direct link between Qureshi and actual acts of terrorism was "relatively remote". |
| Lord Phillips, sitting with Mr Justice Pitchford and Mrs Justice Dobbs, said Qureshi was an educated man who had become "infected with extremist ideology". | |
| He ruled that the existing jail term was "lenient, but not unduly lenient", given that Qureshi's offences were "at the lower end of the scale" of terrorist-related activity. | |
| 'Lyrical Terrorist' | |
| Qureshi, a dentist, was arrested at Heathrow Airport in 2006, carrying £9,000 in cash, night vision goggles and military manuals stored on computer discs. | Qureshi, a dentist, was arrested at Heathrow Airport in 2006, carrying £9,000 in cash, night vision goggles and military manuals stored on computer discs. |
| He had been about to board a plane to Pakistan. | He had been about to board a plane to Pakistan. |
| Police later searched Qureshi's home and found he was in e-mail contact with Heathrow shop assistant Samina Malik, the self-styled "Lyrical Terrorist". | Police later searched Qureshi's home and found he was in e-mail contact with Heathrow shop assistant Samina Malik, the self-styled "Lyrical Terrorist". |
| Malik was given a suspended jail sentence in November 2007 after being convicted of storing a library of material for terrorism. | Malik was given a suspended jail sentence in November 2007 after being convicted of storing a library of material for terrorism. |
| Andrew Hall QC, representing Qureshi, described him as "something of a Walter Mitty character", who may have been "living in a fantasy world, exaggerating what he was doing and playing a role to impress others". | Andrew Hall QC, representing Qureshi, described him as "something of a Walter Mitty character", who may have been "living in a fantasy world, exaggerating what he was doing and playing a role to impress others". |
| Lawyers for Attorney General Baroness Scotland QC had argued that Qureshi was "obviously committed to his cause" and was prepared to sacrifice his life, possibly to attack coalition forces overseas. | |
| They argued that he should have been sentenced to between 10 and 16 years in prison. |