A convicted Birmingham terrorist suspected of trying to go to Syria has been jailed for 20 months for misleading police about his travel plans.
In July 2012, Ishaaq Hussain, 24, was sentenced to 40 months’ imprisonment after admitting an offence of preparing to commit a terrorist act by attending a training camp in Pakistan.
At an Old Bailey hearing on Friday, Hussain pleaded guilty to failing to notify police of foreign travel plans on three occasions between January and March this year, contrary to requirements following his earlier conviction.
Hussain, of Washwood Heath , had claimed to be planning a family holiday in Italy with his wife and young child, but did not say the trip, which was twice postponed, also included Greece and Turkey. And when he was stopped by police on his third attempt to leave the country, he was travelling alone, the court heard.
Karen Jones, prosecuting, said it was a “serious and deliberate breach” by Hussain.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Saunders said Syria was the suspected destination as Hussain would not have been able to catch his return flight from Italy had he visited Greece and Turkey.
He said: “Those facts clearly give rise to the suspicion that the defendant was intending to travel to Turkey to gain access to Syria.
“That is, however, only a suspicion. Had the prosecution been able to prove those facts to the criminal standard of proof, a more serious charge would have been laid against the defendant.
“I do not sentence this defendant on the basis that he was intending to go to Syria to fight.”
