Two Islamic extremists who led one of the most active terrorist recruitment cells yet uncovered in the UK were jailed yesterday.
Chris Greenwood
Two Islamic extremists who led one of the most active terrorist recruitment cells yet uncovered in the UK were jailed yesterday.
Mohammed Hamid and Atilla Ahmet were behind an al Qaeda-style "academy" aimed at creating a new generation of terrorists.
Hamid, who was found guilty of organising terrorist training and soliciting murder, was jailed indefinitely. He was told a parole board cannot consider him for release until he has served at least seven-and-a-half years in prison.
Ahmet, who admitted three counts of soliciting murder, was jailed for six years 11 months. Police found the influential pair spent months grooming impressionable young Muslim men to fight jihad against non-believers.
Hamid, 50, who once boasted to police his name was Osama bin London, organised weekly brain-washing talks at his home in east London and outdoor training camps at locations across the UK.
Ahmet, 44, the self-styled "emir" of the gang and a former senior aide of Abu Hamza, often led the bigoted discussions.
Sentencing the men yesterday at Woolwich Crown Court, Mr Justice Pitchers told Hamid he remained a danger to society.
The judge said he was convinced the pair intended their pupils to go abroad and commit terrorism. He said: "The purpose was to go abroad to commit offences but was no less serious for that.
"Somebody killed by a terrorist act is as serious if it is committed abroad as here."
The judge added evidence did not support claims Hamid was instrumental in the July 21 attacks. But he said members of the gang were "sufficiently comfortable" with him to attend his camps and listen to his preaching.
He said: "Mohammed Hamid, you are, in my judgment, dangerous.
"You used your charm and knowledge of the Koran to influence others to terrorism."
Addressing Ahmet, the judge said his love of the limelight would be "laughable" if the views expressed were not so unpleasant.
He said Ahmet was unsophisticated but so were the young men who attended the Hackney meetings.
"Your ability to influence the unsophisticated can hardly survive what everybody now knows of you," he said.
A jury heard during the four-month trial how Hamid was at the centre of a loose-knit gang of often disaffected young Muslim men. His Hackney council home was used as a base for weekly meetings.
Prosecutors said the pair attempted to corrupt their followers to take up arms against those who did not share their perverted view of Islam.
Counter terrorist police captured strong evidence against both men by planting a bug in the house. An undercover officer also infiltrated the gang.
On one occasion Ahmet told others that it was "halal", or lawful, to kill "big people" such as the police, politicians and judges.
He had honed his rhetorical skills beside Abu Hamza at Finsbury Park Mosque.
Hamid aspired to send his terrorist pupils on to further training in Afghanistan.
The court was told several of the July 21 failed bombers were among Hamid's followers and attended meetings at his home. He kept in phone contact with five members of the gang and even sent a text message to conspirator Hussain Osman in the hours after the July 7 atrocities.
