A cousin of two sisters who were dubbed the “teenage terror twins” after they joined Islamic State is facing jail after he created a ‘hub of communication’ in Manchester to help people go to Syria and fight jihad.
From his mother’s home in Fallowfield , A-level student Abdullahi Ahmed Jama Farah, 20, created a “hub of communication” for his “Mandem” group of like-minded extremists.
Following a trial at the Old Bailey he was found guilty of preparing for terrorist acts by helping Nur Hassan, 19, from Whalley Range , achieve his aim of travelling to Syria to fight.
It can now be reported that Jama Farah is related to the so-called “terror twins”, Zahra and Salma Halane, who at the age of 16 left their home in Chorlton in Manchester in June 2014 and are believed to have married ISIS fighters .
Prosecutor Gareth Patterson had told jurors it was clear that Jama Farah supported ISIS from what was found on his computers as well as messages on WhatsApp and social media.
Mr Patterson said he performed an “important role as the hub of communication” in the UK.
Jama Farah, who is Danish and of Somali origin, was in communication with four other friends abroad, two of whom are believed to have been killed and another badly injured in fighting.
His cousin Ahmed Ibrahim Halane, known as Pie and is the brother of the ‘terror twins’, went to Somalia in September 2013, where he is thought to have joined the terrorist group Al-Shabaab.
Halane, who grew up in Bolton and Chorlton , is currently in Copenhagen, banned from returning to the UK.
Close friends Raphael Hostey, a university student from Manchester; Mohammed Javeed, from Levenshulme and Khalil Raoufi, from Didsbury, headed from north west England to Syria on October 6, 2013, to join IS, the court heard.
Raoufi and Hostey went on to encourage others from England and around the world to swell their ranks in postings on Twitter.
Raoufi, also known as Abu Layth, was killed in combat in February 2014 and Hostey, or Al Qaqa, was shot in the foot.
Javeed, nicknamed Prinny, ended up in Iraq, where it emerged during the trial, he blew himself up in a suicide attack.
During his evidence, the defendant confirmed that when he twice discussed with his friends “doing a Prinny”, that was what they were referring to.
Mohammed Javeed’s brother, the science teacher Jamshed Javeed, also planned to join ISIS but was arrested in Britain before he could get there.
When Jama Farah was arrested on March 11, 2014, he told police that he knew them all through his cousin Halane, who was ‘emir’, or leader, of their group of close friends.
A snapshot of life under Islamic State was revealed in photographs Raoufi sent to the defendant via WhatsApp and Twitter in and around Al-Ittihad university near the Syrian city of Raqqah, which had been turned into a training camp with a stash of weaponry.
One of the images appeared to show a joke equation on the ‘square root of jihad’ written on a university white board with “well done” written on it.
Amid the friends posing together was Ifthekar Jaman, from Portsmouth, who was also killed in fighting.
Jurors were shown a YouTube clip by Raoufi of an interview with Hostey in a Syrian hospital after he was shot in the foot in January 2014.
Jama Farah, of South Grove, Fallowfield, denied wrongdoing.
He was cast by his defence as an over-excited teenager sitting in his bedroom at home on his computer in contact with his friends and passing on phone numbers, concerned for their welfare.
However, the jury convicted him of facilitating Hassan’s travel to Syria and for his communication with Raoufi.
Judge Michael Topolski told the defendant he would be sentenced at a later date.
He said: “You must be in no doubt there can only be one sentence from this court - at the end of this process - that is a term of imprisonment. You have been convicted of serious terrorist-related crimes, be in no doubt that will be the sentence of the court.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Tony Mole, head of the North West Counter Terrorism Unit said: “Jama was very much a key part of the communication between this group of friends who had gone abroad with the intention of committing acts of terrorism.
“By regularly providing them with new contact details and updates on each other he supported their efforts to evade authorities and continue their extremist lifestyles.
“Although he may not have been there committing these acts himself, his actions helped facilitate what they were doing and I hope his conviction will send a message to all those who are even considering offering a helping hand to terrorists.”
Any suspicious activity or behaviour can be reported to police via the confidential Anti-Terrorist Hotline by calling 0800 789 321. Extremist or terrorist content online can be reported at www.gov.uk/report-terrorism
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