A man with links to a banned Islamist group has been jailed for more than two and a half years for keeping al-Qaeda manuals that could be used for terrorist attacks.
Bethnal Green man Afsor Ali, 27, was found guilty at the Old Bailey on Friday of three counts of possessing material likely to be used for committing or preparing an act of terrorism.
The Scott Street resident was sentenced on Tuesday to spend 31 months in prison.
His sentence included three jail terms of 15 months to run concurrently for the terrorist offences, plus a further 16 months for using someone else’s passport in an attempt to flee to Paris via Kings Cross St Pancras station.
Ali was found not guilty of a fourth count of possessing terrorist documents.
The electronic files, stored on Ali’s computer and MP3 player, included the online al-Qaeda magazine Inspire, produced by the group’s Yemeni branch, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and the terror manual 39 Means to Serve and Participate in Jihad.
Ali is believed to have been a member of the banned group Muslims Against Crusades, run by hate-preacher Anjem Choudhury and proscribed by the government under various names.
During the trial the court heard that Ali had promoted “extremism” online using the name Asad Ullah, in one video warning people of a terrorist attack at the Royal Wedding, and in another praising the 9/11 attacks as “historic”.
In a statement, the Met said counter-terrorism police arrested Ali in November 2012 and seized a number of “media devices” after a search of two homes in east London.
He was charged with possessing written material deemed to be useful to terrorists in breach of section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Cdr Duncan Ball of Counter Terrorism Command said: “Afsor Ali has been found guilty of being involved in terrorism offences.
“We continue to target those who support, or are involved in terrorist acts and where there is evidence to support prosecutions we will put those responsible before the courts.”
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Bethnal Green Islamist jailed for keeping al-Qaeda terror manuals
Bethnal Green Islamist found guilty of keeping terrorist manuals
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