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British teacher pleads guilty over plan to fight for Isis in Syria British teacher pleads guilty over terrorism offences
(about 1 hour later)
A chemistry teacher accused of supporting Islamic State (Isis) is facing jail after he admitted terrorism charges. A respected chemistry teacher from Bolton accused of planning to fight with Isis in Syria has admitted terrorism offences.
Jamshed Javeed, 30, from Levenshulme, Manchester, accepts that he intended to travel to Syria to join rebels fighting against the Assad regime. But he insists he is not an extremist and “has never supported and does not support the aims of Isis as now revealed and understood”. Jamshed Javeed, 30, a married father of two who taught pupils at Sharples high school, Bolton, Greater Manchester, pleaded guilty to two counts of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts, including assisting others, at Woolwich crown court in London on Monday.
Police claim the previously “law-abiding” married father-of-two “started to support the Isis cause” from August last year. He admitted that he had intended to travel to Syria to join fighters against Bashar al-Assad’s regime but was thwarted when his parents hid his passport. He was arrested after applying for a new one.
At Woolwich crown court Javeed, who taught at Sharples high school in Bolton, admitted two counts of engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts. Javeed also admitted he funded his younger brother, Mohammed, and another man to fly to Syria, to join rebels fighting against the regime.
The first charge states that he intended to help others commit acts of terrorism by providing funding and purchasing equipment between 1 July 2013 and 12 March this year. But he insists, in a five-page basis of plea, that he has never supported Isis, that he is not an “extremist” and that he was “misled into a mistaken belief that he was free to travel to Syria”.
The second count alleges he made travel plans, obtained a passport and purchased equipment with the intention of committing acts of terrorism between the same dates. Police claim that the teacher began to support Isis last August when he was radicalised and his appearance and behaviour began to change. His family noticed the change and, growing suspicious, tried to stop him travelling to Syria, but he ignored them, they said.
Javeed, born in Manchester, is said to have become rapidly radicalised from living an ordinary western lifestyle with a stable family background to someone who was determined to travel to Syria and fight for Isis. DCS Tony Mole, head of the north-west counter-terrorism unit, said: “Javeed was an otherwise law-abiding man who had a responsible job, a child and another one on the way, and was respected. However, from August last year both his appearance and behaviour started to change and in a short space of time he started to support the Isis cause and those planning to travel to Syria.
There is no evidence to link his teaching job with his terrorist activities. He was arrested last December by counter-terrorism officers because of fears he was planning to fly imminently to Syria via Turkey with equipment he had bought for use on the battlefields. “His family grew suspicious and were clearly intent on stopping him, but he ignored their pleas and told them he was determined to go through with his plans to travel to Syria. He had bought equipment to take with him and had given money to help others travel there.
His family pleaded with him not to travel to Syria but Javeed told them he wanted to go regardless of their wishes. “What this case tells us is that the earlier we can be told about someone’s intentions to join a group like this, the better. Ideally, we would like to stop people well before they get to this stage. That is why we say that if you are concerned about a friend or family member who has gone missing, you should contact the police via the 101 non-emergency number.”
DCS Tony Mole, head of the north-west counter-terrorism unit, said: “The evidence indicates he has got together with a group who have been very determined to go out to Syria and fight despite the efforts of his family who were against him going out there. The first charge against Javeed states that he intended to help others to commit acts of terrorism by providing funding and purchasing equipment between 1 July 2013 and 12 March this year. The second charge alleges that he made travel plans, obtained a passport and purchased equipment with the intention of committing acts of terror in Syria between the same dates.
“So, friends and family have been very clear and have attempted to stop him travelling to Syria but he was still determined to go. The basis of plea submitted by Javeed’s lawyers said: “He has never supported, and does not support, the aims of Isis as now revealed and understood. He does not support suicide bombings, the execution of hostages or forcing non-Muslims to convert to Islam.
“I think anybody that either goes out to Isis or is trying to get out to Isis at this stage is putting themselves and their family and their communities in a very vulnerable position. It is a life-changing decision.
“No matter whether you are from a vulnerable background or a stable background, there is a sector of society that is very vulnerable to this rhetoric. You only have to watch the news to see what this group is about. Would you recommend anyone to go out there and fight with them?
“Anyone who goes out to fight with Isis could potentially be a serious danger to communities if they return. By the time you have been trained, had experience, built up future friendships and fully engaged with that terrorist rhetoric, you potentially become a dangerous individual, so we take a robust approach to people that wish to engage with terrorist organisations.”
But a basis of plea submitted by Javeed’s lawyers said: “He has never supported, and does not support, the aims of Isis as now revealed and understood.
“He does not support suicide bombings, the execution of hostages or forcing non-Muslims to convert to Islam.
“Jamshed Javeed believes that as a result of Isis’s actions – attacking other rebel groups and its brutally executed ambition to create a new caliphate in the region – it has shifted the focus from defeating Assad, who is now in a much stronger position.”“Jamshed Javeed believes that as a result of Isis’s actions – attacking other rebel groups and its brutally executed ambition to create a new caliphate in the region – it has shifted the focus from defeating Assad, who is now in a much stronger position.”
Javeed says he would not travel to Syria now.Javeed says he would not travel to Syria now.
“There is no coherent rebel force seeking to defeat Assad,” the basis of plea said. “He is appalled at the indiscriminate brutality of Isis. He does not believe in imposing his religious beliefs on others, nor does he believe that murdering innocent people can ever be justified.”“There is no coherent rebel force seeking to defeat Assad,” the basis of plea said. “He is appalled at the indiscriminate brutality of Isis. He does not believe in imposing his religious beliefs on others, nor does he believe that murdering innocent people can ever be justified.”
Javeed says he discovered his younger brother Mohammed Javeed was planning to join rebels in Syria in August or September last year.Javeed says he discovered his younger brother Mohammed Javeed was planning to join rebels in Syria in August or September last year.
He transferred a total of £1,400 to his brother’s account, and accepts that £1,100 of that money would be used to fund Mohammed and a friend’s travel to Syria. He transferred a total of £1,400 to his brother’s account, and accepts that £1,100 of that money would be used to fund Mohammed and another man’s travel to Syria.
The basis of plea says Jamshed Javeed did not recruit, advise or encourage anyone to travel to Syria. The basis of plea says Javeed did not recruit, advise or encourage anyone to travel to Syria.
It says the defendant is a practising and sincere Muslim and not an extremist.It says the defendant is a practising and sincere Muslim and not an extremist.
He was said to have been deeply moved by images and reports of “extreme suffering of the Syrian people at the hands of Bashar al-Assad’s vicious regime”.He was said to have been deeply moved by images and reports of “extreme suffering of the Syrian people at the hands of Bashar al-Assad’s vicious regime”.
The basis of plea says: “It was against this background, and influenced by his younger brother’s decision, that Jamshed Javeed subsequently came to the conclusion that he should go to support the ordinary people of Syria.The basis of plea says: “It was against this background, and influenced by his younger brother’s decision, that Jamshed Javeed subsequently came to the conclusion that he should go to support the ordinary people of Syria.
“He accepts that this would have meant becoming involved in some fighting as well as humanitarian relief. He also acknowledges that he spent time on the internet looking at various websites and followed individuals on Twitter. “He accepts that this would have meant becoming involved in some fighting as well as humanitarian relief. He also acknowledges that he spent time on the internet looking at various websites and followed individuals on Twitter. But he does not have an ‘extremist’ mindset. His motivation was no more than to play a part in defeating Assad or at least repelling his army from attacking the civilian population.
“But he does not have an ‘extremist’ mindset. His motivation was no more than to play a part in defeating Assad or at least repelling his army from attacking the civilian population.
“He has no broader agenda than that. He had no interest in creating a new Islamic state.”“He has no broader agenda than that. He had no interest in creating a new Islamic state.”
Javeed claims he did not know in September 2013 that he could be prosecuted for making plans to travel to Syria to support opposition forces or for helping his brother and two others do so. He will be sentenced on 12 December. Judge Michael Topolski QC remanded him in custody until that date.
The basis of plea said: “He did not consider himself to be a terrorist. He had hoped to resume his teaching career on his return from Syria.”
He was spoken to twice by MI5 officers last December but not told that fighting with the opposition against the Assad regime would be a terrorism offence, it was claimed.
The basis of plea said: “He understood that MI5 wanted him to know that they were keeping an eye on him to ensure that he did not get involved in any unlawful activity within the UK.”
On the same day that he was approached by intelligence officers, police were said to have visited his wife Shamelia and provided her with a “Syria travel information and advice booklet” that implied that joining the Free Syrian Army would not constitute an offence.
He was unable to travel last November after his family took and hid his passport, the defence document said, but after obtaining a replacement passport, he was arrested in December, it added.
Prosecutors will consider whether they accept the basis of plea before sentencing.
Javeed, who appeared in the dock with a pony-tail and dressed in a light-blue T-shirt, will be sentenced on 12 December. He spoke only to confirm his guilty pleas during the short hearing.
Judge Michael Topolski QC remanded him in custody until that date.