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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/oct/06/uk-pharmacist-zameer-ghumra-jailed-beheading-video-child-islamic-state
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| UK pharmacist jailed for showing beheading video to a child | UK pharmacist jailed for showing beheading video to a child |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| A pharmacist who showed an Islamic State beheading video to a primary school pupil has been jailed for six years for a “determined effort” to radicalise children. | A pharmacist who showed an Islamic State beheading video to a primary school pupil has been jailed for six years for a “determined effort” to radicalise children. |
| Zameer Ghumra was found guilty of disseminating terrorist propaganda as he tried to brainwash two young brothers into becoming Isis fighters. | Zameer Ghumra was found guilty of disseminating terrorist propaganda as he tried to brainwash two young brothers into becoming Isis fighters. |
| The 38-year-old taught the children how to survive a bomb attack and fight with knives, rewarding them with sweets to keep them onside. | The 38-year-old taught the children how to survive a bomb attack and fight with knives, rewarding them with sweets to keep them onside. |
| He was sentenced at Nottingham crown court on Friday for what the judge, Gregory Dickinson QC, described as a particularly serious attempt to turn the children into terrorists. | He was sentenced at Nottingham crown court on Friday for what the judge, Gregory Dickinson QC, described as a particularly serious attempt to turn the children into terrorists. |
| “These were shocking crimes which damaged the children and caused offence to the vast majority of law-abiding Muslims,” he said. Dickinson also noted there had been an “absence of remorse” from Ghumra. | “These were shocking crimes which damaged the children and caused offence to the vast majority of law-abiding Muslims,” he said. Dickinson also noted there had been an “absence of remorse” from Ghumra. |
| Jurors heard how Ghumra followed various Isis-linked social media accounts and made the two unidentified children follow similar accounts. | Jurors heard how Ghumra followed various Isis-linked social media accounts and made the two unidentified children follow similar accounts. |
| Though he worked as a pharmacist in Oundle, Northamptonshire, Ghumra was said to have been setting up a madrasa, an Islamic school. | Though he worked as a pharmacist in Oundle, Northamptonshire, Ghumra was said to have been setting up a madrasa, an Islamic school. |
| The jury was told how Ghumra had online conversations with Anjem Choudary, the jailed radical preacher, describing him as a good man to the children. | The jury was told how Ghumra had online conversations with Anjem Choudary, the jailed radical preacher, describing him as a good man to the children. |
| Giving evidence in court, one of the boys said Ghumra had shown him a lot of beheading videos. | Giving evidence in court, one of the boys said Ghumra had shown him a lot of beheading videos. |
| “[Ghumra] had Isis training videos and people being beheaded,” he said. “There was talking and then the American soldier was beheaded. | “[Ghumra] had Isis training videos and people being beheaded,” he said. “There was talking and then the American soldier was beheaded. |
| “It made me feel disgusting. He said: ‘If you truly love Allah, then you do it.’ I told him I get a horrid feeling when I see this.” | “It made me feel disgusting. He said: ‘If you truly love Allah, then you do it.’ I told him I get a horrid feeling when I see this.” |
| The boy told the court: “He believes in a very, very, very extreme Islam. He believes if anyone’s non-Muslim and they say anything bad about Islam you kill them. And you can’t make friends with any non-Muslim.” | The boy told the court: “He believes in a very, very, very extreme Islam. He believes if anyone’s non-Muslim and they say anything bad about Islam you kill them. And you can’t make friends with any non-Muslim.” |
| The boys’ mother told the court she had grown increasingly concerned about the man’s influence on the children, who she said were “waking up in the night because they think someone is killing them”. | The boys’ mother told the court she had grown increasingly concerned about the man’s influence on the children, who she said were “waking up in the night because they think someone is killing them”. |
| She said: “My kids have been forced to watch Isis training videos. He told them: ‘We will have to do this one day.’ He told them all kafirs [non-believers] go to hell, even if they’re good people.” | She said: “My kids have been forced to watch Isis training videos. He told them: ‘We will have to do this one day.’ He told them all kafirs [non-believers] go to hell, even if they’re good people.” |
| She claimed that one of her children had been shown a beheading video and was told by Ghumra: “We will have to do this when we go to Syria.” | She claimed that one of her children had been shown a beheading video and was told by Ghumra: “We will have to do this when we go to Syria.” |
| She added: “He said if you truly believe in God you do it for him. He said they would go to Turkey and make a run for it.” | She added: “He said if you truly believe in God you do it for him. He said they would go to Turkey and make a run for it.” |
| The court heard that after Ghumra’s arrest at Birmingham airport in September 2015, a computer was seized showing 1,600 search results for terms including “survival knives” and “bushcraft”. | The court heard that after Ghumra’s arrest at Birmingham airport in September 2015, a computer was seized showing 1,600 search results for terms including “survival knives” and “bushcraft”. |
| However, after police officers searched his home, neither the phone containing the beheading video nor the video itself was recovered. | However, after police officers searched his home, neither the phone containing the beheading video nor the video itself was recovered. |
| Speaking after he was found guilty on Thursday, Sue Hemming, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Zameer Ghumra tried to brainwash impressionable children with this violent ideology by making one watch beheading videos and urging them both to adopt a hardline religious outlook. | Speaking after he was found guilty on Thursday, Sue Hemming, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Zameer Ghumra tried to brainwash impressionable children with this violent ideology by making one watch beheading videos and urging them both to adopt a hardline religious outlook. |
| “The CPS case was that he intended to radicalise them in the hope that they would go on to be involved in terrorism. The children were brave to give evidence and we would like to thank them for helping to secure this conviction of a dangerous man.” | “The CPS case was that he intended to radicalise them in the hope that they would go on to be involved in terrorism. The children were brave to give evidence and we would like to thank them for helping to secure this conviction of a dangerous man.” |
| UK security and counter-terrorism | UK security and counter-terrorism |
| Islamic State | Islamic State |
| Nottingham | Nottingham |
| Islam | Islam |
| Religion | Religion |
| Children | Children |
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