- Ministers are preparing tough new crackdown on 'foreign fighters' in Syria
- Queen's Speech to include plans to target 400 extremists with British links
- As law stands, only terror-related activities in the UK can be criminalised
- But under new plans, Britons can be prosecuted even if they prepare for terrorist acts while they are abroad
- Comes amid growing concern over effect of jihadists returning from Syria
Crackdown: Last month Mashudur Choudhury became the first Briton to be prosecuted under terror laws for arranging to travel to Syria to join a jihadist training camp
Ministers are preparing a tough new crackdown on ‘foreign fighters’ who import their fanaticism back to the UK.
The Queen’s Speech on Wednesday will include plans to target the estimated 400 extremists with British links who have travelled to Syria since the conflict began.
As the law currently stands, only terror-related activities which take place in the UK can be criminalised – meaning that British nationals who use a foreign base, such as Syria, to plan attacks on the UK can escape prosecution.
Under the new plans, the Terrorism Act will be amended so that Britons can be prosecuted even if they prepare for terrorist acts while they are abroad.
The move comes amid growing concern within the Government over the destabilising effect on British society of jihadists returning from Syria, which has become the leading destination for Islamic fighters.
A No 10 source said: ‘People who prepare and train for terrorist activities should be in no doubt of the action we are prepared to take to protect our national security, including prosecuting those who break the law.
Our message is clear – the UK advises against all travel to Syria. Anyone who does travel, for whatever reason, is putting themselves in considerable danger.’
Last month Mashudur Choudhury became the first Briton to be prosecuted under terror laws for arranging to travel to Syria to join a jihadist training camp.
Choudhury, 31, who will be sentenced later this month, was arrested after the police were tipped off from within the Muslim community in his home town of Portsmouth.
They received intelligence that Choudhury and four other men had left for Syria last October.
The men were allegedly inspired to go to the camps after another associate, Ifthekar Jaman, 29, travelled to fight with the Al Qaeda-inspired rebel groups fighting Bashar al-Assad’s forces last year.
Terrorist: The Mail on Sunday today revealed that London-born Ismail Jabbar (pictured, left and right, in images posted on social media), 22, fled his suburban upbringing and travelled abroad to become a fanatical terrorist
Jaman, who used social media to encourage others to follow him, was killed in December.
And The Mail on Sunday today revealed that London-born Ismail Jabbar, 22, has fled his suburban upbringing and travelled abroad to become a fanatical terrorist.
Jabbar, a former trainee with the House of Fraser store, is currently fighting for the ‘Unit Bin Laden’ of violent Islamic extremists in Syria, where he boasts of killing his enemies.
He also incites fellow Muslims to murder soldiers, police officers and unbelievers back in Britain.
Waging war: The Queen's Speech on Wednesday will include plans to target the estimated 400 extremists with British links who have travelled to Syria since the conflict began (file picture)
No comments:
Post a Comment