Man jailed over terror act plans

12 April 2012

A 29-year-old man has been jailed for four-and-a-half years after he admitted planning to fly to Pakistan to carry out acts of terrorism.

Sohail Qureshi, a qualified dentist, told fellow extremists he planned to "kill many" during a two-to-three week mission, the Old Bailey heard.

Qureshi, of Palmerston Road, Forest Gate, east London, was in e-mail contact with Samina Malik, the so-called "lyrical terrorist".

As he prepared to fly out to Islamabad in October 2006, he asked Malik, a WHSmith employee who worked airside at Heathrow airport, about security arrangements.

Malik, who wrote poems about martyrdom and beheading unbelievers, was given a suspended jail sentence last year after she was found guilty of storing a library of material for terrorism.

Qureshi was arrested as he prepared to board the plane to Pakistan with nearly £9,000 in cash, a night sight, and military information stored on computer discs.

Jonathan Sharp, prosecuting, said he planned to carry out terrorist activity either in Pakistan, Afghanistan or Waziristan, a tribal region of Pakistan.

The court heard that police found a message on an extremist website in which Qureshi wrote: "Pray that I kill many, brother. Revenge, revenge, revenge."

Mr Sharp said: "Sohail Qureshi is a dedicated supporter of Islamist extremism."

Qureshi pleaded guilty to preparing for terrorism under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006, the first time anyone has been convicted of the charge. He also pleaded guilty to possessing an article for a terrorist purpose and possessing a record likely to be useful in terrorism.

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