Daily Mail 19 September 2008
Schoolboy plotter: Hammaad Munshi
A schoolboy who became Britain’s youngest convicted terrorist has been locked up for two years.
Hammaad Munshi was 15 when he joined a cell of Islamic fanatics targeting
the Royal Family.
Munshi, the grandson of a British sharia
judge, was recruited by Aabid Hussain
Khan, a leading ‘cyber terrorist’ who radicalised impressionable Muslims, grooming them and encouraging them to attend military camps in Pakistan.
While studying for his GCSEs, Munshi
downloaded detailed information on deadly chemical weapons and sent instructions on how to make napalm to Khan, a former Bradford burger bar worker.
Together with postal worker Sultan
Muhammad, 23, Khan assembled a dossier on the most senior members of the Royal Family.
They had plans of the London Underground and Buckingham Palace, bomb-making guides and personal details of 15 royals.
Last month Khan, 23, was jailed for 12 years and Muhammad was jailed for ten years.
Dangerous: Guide to making your own firearms recovered from Hammaad Munshi when he was arrested on his way home from school
Munshi, now 18, was sentenced to two years in a young offenders’ institution by
Judge Timothy Pontius at the Old Bailey yesterday.
The judge told him: ‘It is regrettable and tragic that you find yourself in court on such a serious charge. You have brought very great shame upon yourself, your family and your religion.
‘However in the light of the evidence I have no doubt that you, amongst others of similar immaturity and vulnerability, fell under the spell of fanatical extremists who took advantage of your youthful naivety.
Sultan Mohammed and Aabid Khan were convicted of terror offences
'Were it not for Aabid Khan’s malign influence, I doubt whether this offence would ever have been committed.
Well-respected family: Yakub, the grandfather of Hammaad Munshi, is the leader of the Dewsbury Sharia court
‘Yet there is no doubt that you knew what you were doing and were well aware of the nature of the record of information that you sent to Aabid Khan who took it to Pakistan.
‘In those circumstances a custodial sentence is inevitable and unavoidable.’
Munshi’s family is of the Muslim population in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, and his grandfather Yakub Munshi runs the town’s sharia court.
The schoolboy, who was studying for his GCSEs at Westborough High School in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, was traced through his online conversations with Khan.
In one MSN chat, they argued how best to sneak a metal sword through airport security.
Munshi had painstakingly scoured the internet for details on how to make napalm and grenades.
He claimed he had only done the research out of curiosity but handwritten notes hidden under his bed revealed his burning desire to travel abroad to become a martyr.
Munshi also had a library of videos, documents and audio clips showing acts of jihad, mujaheddin fighters and Al Qaeda preachings.
He was arrested as he walked home from school after an exam..
In mitigation his barrister Harendra de Silva QC told the Old Bailey that shame had been brought on a well-respected family and added: ‘This was a vulnerable youth who was manipulated by others.’
Mohammed Atif Siddique departs at the High Court in Edinburgh after being found guilty of a series of Islamist terrorism offences. He was 'groomed' by Khan
Khan, who acted as an administrator on an extremist website called Activion Publications, downloaded information on the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and Camilla, Prince Edward, the Countess of Wessex, The Duke of York and
the Princess Royal.
Munshi was convicted last month of making a record of information likely to be useful in terrorism. He has spent 128 days in custody.
Khan was found guilty of three offences of possessing articles for a purpose connected with terrorism. Muhammad was convicted of three similar offences.
Hamaad Munshi was just 15 when he was recruited into Osama Bin Laden's army of fanatics by online terror mastermind Aabid Hussain Khan
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