British jihadi joined Syria terror camp before faking his own death, court told

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/feb/05/british-jihadi-imran-khawaja-syria-faked-death

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A British jihadi joined a Syrian terror training camp before faking his death and trying to sneak back to the UK, a court has heard.

Imran Khawaja posed with a picture of a severed head while with Rayat al-Tawheed (RAT) insurgents to “create propaganda” for the Islamic State (Isis) terror group.

During his sentencing hearing at Woolwich crown court in London, Brian Altman QC, prosecuting, said the 27-year-old repeatedly lied to his family about when he was coming home before confiding that he was there to die a martyr.

In one text to his sister Azmeena, Khawaja told her to tell his grief-stricken family he was doing charity work, “driving an ambulance der [Syria] or sumtin [sic]”.

The lie echoes the case of the British hostage Alan Henning, the humanitarian whom Isis militants captured while he was on an aid convoy in December 2013. Footage of his murder was released in October.

Khawaja, of Southall in Middlesex, admitted preparation of terrorist acts and attending a terrorism training camp between January and June last year.

A keen bodybuilder who went by the nom de guerre Abu Daigham al-Baritani and the nicknames “Touchi” and “Barbie”, he told his sister he was in Syria for jihad and “wished to die as a martyr”, Altman said. He was pictured holding a series of weapons, including a fully automatic assault rifle, and standing on an anti-aircraft gun.

In many pictures sent home, Khawaja could be seen pointing skywards. In another, he sent his sister a screenshot of a dead fighter. He said: “One of the brothers who got shaheed [martyred] … He got shot 3am … We saw his body 8am … was still warm.”

The court heard that a series of newspaper articles published from 3 June last year reporting Khawaja’s death were based on RAT posts on Twitter and Instagram announcing that he had been “killed in battle a few nights ago”. One report referred to an online image of Khawaja holding the decapitated head of a government fighter.

Altman said: “These postings provided cover for Khawaja’s return into the UK. Far from being dead, Khawaja was at the time on his way back to the UK, hoping to slip in undetected.”

His cousin Tahir Bhatti picked up a hire car and collected him in Bulgaria in an attempt to enter the UK without the authorities knowing. He and Bhatti - who has admitted aiding an offender and will also be sentenced by the judge, Jeremy Baker – were stopped on their return to Dover on 3 June.

Both men initially said they were on a European roadtrip, but Bhatti later admitted the real reason behind his journey. He also told police his younger cousin “always wanted to be a GI Joe”.

The court heard that Khawaja had long wanted to fight in Syria and that, while he appreciated his family loved him, he loved Allah more. Members of his family tried to cajole him into returning to the UK by sending pictures of food.

Altman described how Azmeena “berated her brother for deserting his family”. In texts, read to the court, she said: “I don’t know how you can continue without hearing the voice of your mum and dad.”

Another said: “Book your ticket and come home or I will come and get you”, while his mother said his father had fallen ill in an attempt to hasten his return.

Khawaja repeatedly misled and teased his family by falsely saying he had booked tickets home. In one, he said he was due to arrive back in the UK for Christmas in 2017.