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| Three jailed for discussing possible terror attack | Three jailed for discussing possible terror attack |
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| Three men, including a convert to Islam and a former police employee, have been jailed for secret conversations about preparing a possible terrorist strike against the United Kingdom. | Three men, including a convert to Islam and a former police employee, have been jailed for secret conversations about preparing a possible terrorist strike against the United Kingdom. |
| Richard Dart, from Dorset, converted to Islam around 2010 after attending lectures by the extremist Anjem Choudary. Dart, Imran Mahmood, and Jahangir Alom, who was also schooled in an extremist interpretation of Islam by Choudary, were jailed for a total of more than 20 years for terrorist involvement. | Richard Dart, from Dorset, converted to Islam around 2010 after attending lectures by the extremist Anjem Choudary. Dart, Imran Mahmood, and Jahangir Alom, who was also schooled in an extremist interpretation of Islam by Choudary, were jailed for a total of more than 20 years for terrorist involvement. |
| Choudary told the Guardian he had been a key influence in Dart's understanding of Islam. Dart, the son of teachers from Weymouth, changed his name to Salahuddin al-Britani. | Choudary told the Guardian he had been a key influence in Dart's understanding of Islam. Dart, the son of teachers from Weymouth, changed his name to Salahuddin al-Britani. |
| "Everything he knew, he studied with me," Choudary said. "He attended one of my lectures in west London to find out about Islam, and then he basically attended everything we had." | "Everything he knew, he studied with me," Choudary said. "He attended one of my lectures in west London to find out about Islam, and then he basically attended everything we had." |
| The three men pleaded guilty to acts preparatory to terrorism. They were not found with any explosives or chemicals. | The three men pleaded guilty to acts preparatory to terrorism. They were not found with any explosives or chemicals. |
| Mahmood had gone to Pakistan where he received terrorist training. A rucksack of his was found to have traces of the explosive PETN on it. Dart and Alom tried to find terrorists to train them in Pakistan, but failed. | Mahmood had gone to Pakistan where he received terrorist training. A rucksack of his was found to have traces of the explosive PETN on it. Dart and Alom tried to find terrorists to train them in Pakistan, but failed. |
| An investigation by Scotland Yard and MI5 led to "silent conversations" between Dart and Mahmood being recovered from a laptop. To avoid their discussions being picked up by listening devices, they had sat in Dart's west London flat typing out messages to each other in a Word file on a computer. | An investigation by Scotland Yard and MI5 led to "silent conversations" between Dart and Mahmood being recovered from a laptop. To avoid their discussions being picked up by listening devices, they had sat in Dart's west London flat typing out messages to each other in a Word file on a computer. |
| Investigators were able to recover the files, and the crown alleged the men had discussed targets in the UK, including Wootton Bassett, the town to which British soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq were returned to throngs of locals paying their respects. Targets including MI5 and MI6 were also discussed. | Investigators were able to recover the files, and the crown alleged the men had discussed targets in the UK, including Wootton Bassett, the town to which British soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq were returned to throngs of locals paying their respects. Targets including MI5 and MI6 were also discussed. |
| Choudary dismissed the guilty pleas, saying: "It was just talk, people say these things all the time, it doesn't mean they are going to do it." | Choudary dismissed the guilty pleas, saying: "It was just talk, people say these things all the time, it doesn't mean they are going to do it." |
| He said that in the months before the three men were arrested in July 2012, Dart and Alom became distant. Choudary said he would have taught them that violent jihad abroad may be justified but attacks against Britain were not. | He said that in the months before the three men were arrested in July 2012, Dart and Alom became distant. Choudary said he would have taught them that violent jihad abroad may be justified but attacks against Britain were not. |
| But he said his view ran contrary to those of popular extremist preachers on the internet such as Anwar al-Awlaki, a preacher based in Yemen linked to major terrorist plots such as the Fort Hood massacre in the US and plots in the UK including the attempted murder of Stephen Timms MP. | But he said his view ran contrary to those of popular extremist preachers on the internet such as Anwar al-Awlaki, a preacher based in Yemen linked to major terrorist plots such as the Fort Hood massacre in the US and plots in the UK including the attempted murder of Stephen Timms MP. |
| Awlaki was killed by the US, and Choudary described him a martyr who was now in paradise. | Awlaki was killed by the US, and Choudary described him a martyr who was now in paradise. |
| Choudary's account of the radicalisation of Dart and Alom, a former Met police community support officer and one-time soldier, show that journeys into terrorism are not always random events. | Choudary's account of the radicalisation of Dart and Alom, a former Met police community support officer and one-time soldier, show that journeys into terrorism are not always random events. |
| Choudary has been involved in a succession of extremist groups, from al-Muhajiroun, which was banned, and then successor groups that attract media attention for extremist statements and which annoy the majority of Muslims in the UK who believe they portray the religion in a poor light. | Choudary has been involved in a succession of extremist groups, from al-Muhajiroun, which was banned, and then successor groups that attract media attention for extremist statements and which annoy the majority of Muslims in the UK who believe they portray the religion in a poor light. |
| Dart refused to stand when he was sentenced at the Old Bailey, saying: "I don't wish to stand up, I believe ruling and judging is only for Allah." | Dart refused to stand when he was sentenced at the Old Bailey, saying: "I don't wish to stand up, I believe ruling and judging is only for Allah." |
| Dart, 30, of Broadway, Ealing, west London; Mahmood, 22, of Northolt, west London, and Alom, 26, of Stratford, east London, were stopped at airports while travelling to and from Pakistan. Counter-terrorism officers want to question a fourth man, Mohammed Tariq Nasar, believed to be living in Pakistan. | Dart, 30, of Broadway, Ealing, west London; Mahmood, 22, of Northolt, west London, and Alom, 26, of Stratford, east London, were stopped at airports while travelling to and from Pakistan. Counter-terrorism officers want to question a fourth man, Mohammed Tariq Nasar, believed to be living in Pakistan. |
| Dart was sentenced to 11 years, of which he will serve six in prison and five years on licence. Alom was given four years and six months, and Mahmood more than 14 years, of which he must serve nine years and nine months behind bars. | Dart was sentenced to 11 years, of which he will serve six in prison and five years on licence. Alom was given four years and six months, and Mahmood more than 14 years, of which he must serve nine years and nine months behind bars. |
| Mr Justice Simon said they were all "committed fundamentalists" who would have been prepared to kill. He told Dart and Mahmood: "I'm satisfied to the required criminal standard that neither of you had ruled out an attack in the United Kingdom, and that you, Mahmood, were looking at arming yourself with a bomb." | Mr Justice Simon said they were all "committed fundamentalists" who would have been prepared to kill. He told Dart and Mahmood: "I'm satisfied to the required criminal standard that neither of you had ruled out an attack in the United Kingdom, and that you, Mahmood, were looking at arming yourself with a bomb." |
| Deputy assistant commissioner Stuart Osborne, head of the Met's counter-terrorism command, said: "This case serves as a classic example of how terrorists live in our midst while preparing their acts and their determination to travel overseas to train before returning to the UK to achieve their aims." | Deputy assistant commissioner Stuart Osborne, head of the Met's counter-terrorism command, said: "This case serves as a classic example of how terrorists live in our midst while preparing their acts and their determination to travel overseas to train before returning to the UK to achieve their aims." |
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