A Muslim couple has been jailed for plotting terror attacks, including the murder of right-wing journalist and critic of Islam Katie Hopkins.
Ummar Mirza (pictured, right) and his wife Madihah Taheer used a life-like dummy and combat knife to train for the attacks and exchanged murderous fantasies on an encrypted messaging app.
Mr. Mirza, 21, was jailed for 16 years for preparing acts of terrorism, while Mrs. Taheer, 22, was sentenced to 10 years, the Birmingham Mail reports.
Mr. Mirza’s sister Zainub (pictured, left), who was part of the same terror cell and exchanged Islamist material with the couple, was also jailed for 30 months.
Sentencing the husband, Judge Christopher Kinch QC said: “You had moved a long way down the road of preparation of a terrorist act of the lone wolf type.”
Among the message exchanges, the court heard about were several sent in September 2015, predating their marriage in April 2016, in which Mrs. Taheer told Mr. Mirza: “Can we get married already ffs [for f*ck sake]. I want you to kill for me. I have a list.”
Mr. Mirza replied: “The day of the nikkah (marriage) I’ll kill em all. Give me the list. The only thing that stops me is we are not married. I will defo I’m not joking.”
The Crown Prosecution Service said the conversations showed Mrs. Taheer was a “willing accomplice” who knew what Mr. Mirza wanted to use the knife for.
Prosecutor John McGuinness QC said: “The evidence shows that these two defendants held a shared belief in violent pro-jihad, Islamic State extremism.
“They show evidence of supporting the Islamic State, its methods, beliefs, and aims.”
One week ago, it was reported that the number of arrests for terror-related offenses in the UK has hit a record annual level, and last month, MI5 Director-General Andrew said the Islamic extremist threat to the UK is at an unprecedented scale and has increased “dramatically” over the past year.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.