Mohammed Yamin from Upper Clapton jailed for fighting with terrorist group Al Qaeda in Syria
Mohammed Yamin - Credit: met
A man from Upper Clapton who went to join the terrorist group Al Qaeda in Syria has been jailed.
Mohammed Yamin - Credit: met
Mohammed Yamin, 25, of Southwold Road, travelled to Syria via Romania in July 2013. He was arrested at Heathrow Airport 10 months later by officers who suspected he had delivered clothes and equipment to terrorists.
But he denied any wrong doing and was released.
Three years later he came to the attention of police again however, when he was found acting suspiciously by the Monument to the Women of World War Two in Whitehall.
The incident was flagged up with Counter Terrorism officers, who realised Yamin might have been captured in interviews and footage of Al Qaeda fighters in Syria, shot by Vice News in 2015.
Two of the men interviewed wore combat clothing and spoke with British accents, and one of them could be seen brandishing an automatic rifle - however their faces were covered and officers had previously been unable to identify them.
The news video was compared to body-worn video footage taken when police spoke to Yamin in Whitehall, and experts in facial and voice analysis confirmed the man in the news video was likely to be Yamin.
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He was arrested in January, and on July 15 he pleaded guilty to engaging in preparation of terrorist acts and membership of a proscribed organisation at the Old Bailey.
He was sentenced on Friday to 10-and-a-half years in prison and ordered to serve a further year on license for engaging in preparation of terrorist acts. He was also sentenced to four years - consisting of three years imprisonment and one year on license - to run concurrently for membership of a proscribed organisation.
Det Ch Supt Alexis Boon of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, said: "Anyone who is thinking of returning to the UK having been involved in terrorism abroad can expect to be investigated and as we've shown with this case, we will examine all evidence available so that they are held to account for their actions.
"The Met's Counter Terrorism Command is absolutely committed to investigating and bringing to justice anyone who travels to Syria, or anywhere else in the world, to join or engage in terrorist activity."
