Legal News

A jury has returned a unanimous guilty verdict in a case involving an Imam’s son who travelled to the Syrian border – and claimed he did so because he was “stressed” over his A levels.

Zakariya Ashiq, 20, from Coventry was found guilty of preparing acts of terrorism after the jury deliberated for only two hours.

Ashiq and three friends travelled to Turkey after he dropped out of his studies.

The three friends who also went to Syria – Ali Kalantar, Mohammed Ismail, and Rashid Amani, from Coventry – left for Turkey on 26 March 2014, four days before Ashiq and his father visited the Syrian border.

Ashiq travelled with his father to the Turkish-Syria border to visit aid projects, but fell out with his father during the trip. Ashiq’s parents divorced ten years ago – he lives with his mother and has two brothers aged 15 and 17, who also live with their mother.

The jury heard that he had uploaded recordings to WhatsApp telling friends “there is no life without Jihad” and “the second I get a chance I am doing martydom”, the Daily Mail reports.

While he was in Turkey, his mother had travelled there and tricked him into meeting her, before confiscating his passport and escorting him home, the court heard.

He went on to make two attempts to reach to Syria, posing as a tourist travelling to Corfu on one occasion – and also hitching across Europe to volunteer as a suicide bomber.

Of his three friends who went to Syria, Kalantar was killed in an Allied air strike on Tikrit University in December. Amani died a few days later during an air raid on Kobane.

In his defence, Ashiq told the Old Bailey that he only went to Syria to escape “shadowy figures”, whom he claims kidnapped him off the street and water-boarded him. He told the jury that he had been kidnapped five times by masked men, whom he thought were working for the UK government. He alleges he was handcuffed and thrown into the back of a van during the kidnappings.

Ashiq’s defence barrister, Paul Hynes QC, said that he had a “normal parental relationship” with his mother – but with his father “not so much”.

Ashiq and his father – Mohammed Shoaib Ashiq – had been stoped and interviewed as they left the UK via Birmingham Airport. Ashiq admitted that he knew the other three men who had gone to Syria to become jihadis – but said that his friends had spent their time “drinking and chasing girls” in Britain.

As the jury delivered its verdict, it is reported that Ashiq sniggered and muttered in Arabic.

He is due to be sentenced today (27/05/15).

Duncan Lewis Crime Lawyers – Terrorism offences

Duncan Lewis crime lawyers are available 24/7, 365 days a year to advise at any stage of a charge involving terrorism, including preparing acts of terrorism, carrying out acts of terrorism or belonging to a banned organisation.

There are Duncan Lewis offices nationwide and a crime lawyer can usually be with a client at a police station or court to advise on criminal charges within an hour.

For expert legal advice on all criminal charges – including terrorism charges – call Duncan Lewis crime lawyers on 020 7923 4020.

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