This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-32883230
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Zakariya Ashiq trial: Guilty of trying to join Islamic State | Zakariya Ashiq trial: Guilty of trying to join Islamic State |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A British man has been convicted of trying to join Islamic State in Syria. | A British man has been convicted of trying to join Islamic State in Syria. |
| Zakariya Ashiq, 20, from Coventry, was found guilty of two counts of preparing acts of terrorism. | Zakariya Ashiq, 20, from Coventry, was found guilty of two counts of preparing acts of terrorism. |
| The Old Bailey heard he was arrested at Heathrow in November after failing to cross the border from Jordan. He will be sentenced on Wednesday. | The Old Bailey heard he was arrested at Heathrow in November after failing to cross the border from Jordan. He will be sentenced on Wednesday. |
| Ashiq, of Station Road, admitted trying to get to Syria but said he had been forced to leave the UK because he was being "harassed" by MI5. | Ashiq, of Station Road, admitted trying to get to Syria but said he had been forced to leave the UK because he was being "harassed" by MI5. |
| An examination of his phone revealed recorded conversations with two friends who had allegedly gone to Syria earlier last year, the court heard. | |
| 'Martyrdom' | |
| In them, Ashiq talked to Ali Kalantar and Mohammed Ismail about his journey through Europe. | |
| Ashiq asked his friends for help getting into Syria, saying the second he got the chance he would do "Ishtishadi [martyrdom] against any ... all these people', the jury heard. | |
| Prosecutor Sarah Whitehouse QC described Ashiq's attempts to join Islamic State, saying he went to Turkey with his father in March 2014 to visit refugee camps on the Syrian border. | |
| He then tried to go abroad again in July. | |
| After his arrest at Heathrow on 20 November, Ashiq denied wanting to join Islamic States and said his friend Mr Ismail was "an idiot". | |
| Giving evidence in the witness box, Ashiq said he was "pestered" by members of MI5 who wanted him to help them. | |
| He also claimed to have been "waterboarded" on several occasions and bundled into the back of a van in Coventry. | |
| The jury reached unanimous guilty verdicts after less than two hours' deliberation. |