Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism – British terrorist, now 31, who went to Syria intent on ‘martyrdom on the battlefield’ is released from prison after just nine years
Yusuf Zubair Sarwar was jailed in 2014 and branded ‘dangerous’ by the judge
A British terrorist who travelled to Syria intending on ‘martyrdom on the battlefield’ has been released from a UK jail after just nine years behind bars.
Woolwich Crown Court was told that the pair had travelled to the war-torn country in May 2013 to join an Al-Qaeda linked terrorist group after contacting Islamic extremists who were fighting against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
The men, both 22, pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in preparation of terrorism acts contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act. They were both sentenced to 12 years and eight months with an extended licence period of five years.
Yusuf Zubair Sarwar (pictured) and his childhood friend Mohammed Nahin Ahmed were both jailed in 2014 and branded ‘dangerous’ by the trial judge after pleading guilty of joining a jihadi group in Syria
Referring to the number of terrorists being released, Chris Phillips, the UK’s former Head of the National Counter Terrorism, said: ‘The people being released are convicted terrorists.
‘We know that prison is not reforming prisoners so we are faced with more people who are very dangerous on our streets.
‘You can not adequately monitor these people. We have seen attacks on our streets and more people murdered by recently released terrorists. It is likely we will see more in the future.’
