A rapping jihadi has been discovered guilty of plotting to run amok with an 18in sword during the coronavirus lockdown.
Jobless Sahayb Abu, 27, had purchased two blades, balaclavas, a camouflage hat and physique armour on-line in readiness for the phobia assault final summer season, the Old Bailey heard.
He posed in selfmade movies sporting the tools and rapping about how he needed “to see many Lee Rigby’s heads rolling on the bottom.”
He was arrested on July 9 after discussing weapons with an undercover police officer, who he met on a so-called Islamic State (ISIS) supporters’ Telegram chat group.
A jury deliberated for 21 hours and 32 minutes to discover him guilty of making ready for terrorist acts by a majority of 11 to one.
He appeared in a balaclava in a single of the selfmade movies
(Image: PA)
Read More
Related Articles
Read More
Related Articles
His brother, Muhamed Abu, 32, wept as he was cleared of failing to disclose details about a plot to authorities.
Following the verdicts, Commander Richard Smith stated Sahayb Abu was a “very harmful particular person”, regardless of portraying himself as a clownish aspiring rapper referred to as Masked Menace.
Mr Smith, head of the Met’s counter-terrorism command, stated: “There is little question in my thoughts that Sahayb had murderous intent, some of that was evidenced from the type of issues that he was posting on-line and sharing with others, together with his brother.”
The courtroom heard how some of the defendants’ kin had been linked to extremism up to now.
Sahayb Abu was described as a “very harmful particular person”
(Image: PA)
Sahayb Abu has been discovered guilty
(Image: PA)
Read More
Related Articles
Mr Smith declined to speculate on whether or not the Abu brothers had been radicalised inside the household, on-line or in jail, however stated: “Nobody is born with hatred and intolerance inside them.”
The courtroom heard how the defendants’ half-brothers Wail and Suleyman Aweys went to Syria in 2015, the place they’re each believed to have died.
Two years later, the defendants had been caught with their older half-brother Ahmed Aweys placing up poppy posters in east London saying British tax was used to “kill Muslims”.
Sahayb Abu went on to affiliate with recognized terrorists whereas serving a sentence for housebreaking at Wandsworth jail in south London.
Among them was IS supporter Husnain Rashid, who was jailed for a minimum of 25 years in 2018 for calling for an assault on Prince George.
The 18-inch knife purchased on-line by Sahayb Abu
(Image: PA)
Sahayb Abu was launched from jail on March 20 final yr, and went from being “locked up to locked down” because the Covid-19 pandemic struck, jurors heard.
Over the following three months, Sahayb Abu trawled the web for IS propaganda, together with footage of fighters in balaclavas with weapons.
He spent his £400 month-to-month advantages on two balaclavas, physique armour, gloves, a camouflage hat and two blades, together with an 18in sword, paying further to get it sharpened.
He posed in his fight gear in selfmade movies despatched to Muhamed Abu.
Muhamed Abu was cleared of failing to disclose details about acts of terrorism
(Image: PA)
Addressing the digital camera, he stated “What, are you speaking to me?… Boom!”, in reference to the Robert De Niro line from the movie Taxi Driver.
He boasted the balaclava would “do the job” and stated he was “simply ready on the physique armour… the physique armour cease a bullet”.
In one other disturbing rap, he described London Mayor Sadiq Khan as a “sell-out” and talked about murdered fusilier Lee Rigby.
He stated: “I’m attempting to see many Lee Rigby’s heads rolling on the bottom, man I shoot up a crowd cos I’m an evening stalker, obtained my shank obtained my weapons straight Isis supporter, reject democracy…
“Got my suicide vest, one click on, increase and I’ll goodbye.”
Sahayb Abu in a single of a sequence of selfmade movies he despatched to his brother
(Image: PA)
He additionally posted extremist feedback on-line and got here to the eye of undercover officer Rachid by way of an unique IS supporters’ encrypted chat group on Telegram.
The pair met up twice, and during their dialog used code phrases “silah” and “responsibility free” for firearms, which Rachid claimed he might import.
Sahayb stated the time was coming to be an “motion man moderately than a chatty man” and commented “we want a 9/11 2.0”, in reference to the World Trade Centre assaults in New York.
By then, police took the choice to arrest the brothers on July 9 final yr.
In a search of their father’s flat the place Sahayb Abu had been dwelling, a black IS flag was found.
In his defence, Sahayb Abu denied shopping for the sword and fight gear for a terror assault.
He dismissed extremist posts as “trolling” and claimed he joined the IS Telegram group to appeal to girls with his “bravado”.
He was discovered guilty of making ready for terrorist acts by a majority of 11 to one.
(Image: PA)
Sahayb Abu needed to grow to be well-known like Stormzy, who wore a stab vest when he carried out at Glastonbury, jurors had been advised
He claimed to hate IS, saying his curiosity within the terror group was for information of his misplaced half-brothers Wail and Suleyman Aweys.
Sahayb Abu additionally stated the undercover police officer, dubbed the Man with the Golden Gun after the James Bond movie, had “tricked” him.
His lawyer Michael Ivers QC stated the personas – “cruel troll”, “Jihadi fan boy”, and “wannabe drill rapper” – all betrayed a determined want to be accepted.
Mr Ivers stated: “If there was no lockdown there can be no trial, so simple as that.”
Autistic Muhamed Abu, of Norwood, south London, declined to give proof, however in an outburst within the dock denied he was “anti-British”.
It was claimed on his behalf that the trainee plumber was “very upset” with his fantasist brother for touchdown him within the dock over his “bullshit”.
The defendants had no earlier terror convictions however had been jailed for a similar industrial housebreaking.
Sahayb Abu, of Dagenham, Essex, had additionally been caught drug dealing in France and having a knife.
His half-brother Ahmed Aweys, 35, was jailed for 25 months in 2019 for disseminating terrorist materials.
His sister Asma Aweys was imprisoned for 19 months for gathering terrorist data, and her accomplice Abdulaziz Abu Munye obtained 15 months for dissemination.
