Three in court on terrorism charges

LONDON: Three men facing terrorism charges over the alleged sharing or possession of videos and magazines produced by so-called Islamic State have appeared in court.

Mohamed Ismail, 23, from Harrow, north-west London, is charged with two counts of disseminating a terrorist publication. The charges relate to the alleged sharing online of two videos including one entitled Religion Of Kufr Is One.

Muhammed Tahir, 19, from Peterborough, faces one count of the same offence and is accused of allegedly posting a video online called Flames Of World War II.

Prosecutors argue that the effect of Ismail and Tahir’s alleged offending was to directly or indirectly encourage terrorist acts. A third man, Mohammed Saeed, 21, from Manchester, is accused of five counts of possessing an article suspected to be for a purposeconnected to terrorism, namely five issues of the Islamic State magazine Rumiyah.

The trio were remanded in custody following a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday. The court heard that all the men’s alleged offending, charged under the Terrorism Act, related to the period of November and December last year.

The defendants, all wearing grey jumpers, were accompanied by six officers as they sat side by side in the dock together. Speaking only to give their names, addresses and dates of birth, Ismail also gave his nationality as Dutch, while Tahir and Saeed said they were British. No formal pleas were entered during the short court hearing.

District Judge John Zani denied a bail application made on behalf of Ismail and Tahir, while no application was made for Saeed. He remanded all three men in custody ahead of them appearing at the Old Bailey on February 7.

The Metropolitan Police said officers held the suspects on December 30 as part of a planned operation in Manchester, Peterborough and north London.A fourth man, aged 22, who was arrested in north London as part of the same investigation, has been released with no further action.