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A schoolboy who became Britain’s youngest convicted terrorist has been locked up for two years.Hammaad Munshi was 15 when he joined a cell of Islamic fanatics targetingthe Royal Family.Munshi, the grandson of a British sharia judge, was recruited by Aabid Hussain Khan, a leading ‘cyber terrorist’ who radicalised impressionable Muslims, grooming them and encouraging them to attend military camps in Pakistan.While studying for his GCSEs, Munshi downloaded detailed information on deadly chemical weapons and sent instructions on how to make napalm to Khan, a former Bradford burger bar worker.Together with postal worker SultanMuhammad, 23, Khan assembled a dossier on the most senior members of the Royal Family.They had plans of the London Underground and Buckingham Palace, bomb-making guides and personal details of 15 royals.Last month Khan, 23, was jailed for 12 years and Muhammad was jailed for ten years.Munshi, now 18, was sentenced to two years in a young offenders’ institution byJudge Timothy Pontius at the Old Bailey yesterday.The judge told him: ‘It is regrettable and tragic that you find yourself in court on such a serious charge. You have brought very great shame upon yourself, your family and your religion.‘However in the light of the evidence I have no doubt that you, amongst others of similar immaturity and vulnerability, fell under the spell of fanatical extremists who took advantage of your youthful naivety.'Were it not for Aabid Khan’s malign influence, I doubt whether this offence would ever have been committed.‘Yet there is no doubt that you knew what you were doing and were well aware of the nature of the record of information that you sent to Aabid Khan who took it to Pakistan.‘In those circumstances a custodial sentence is inevitable and unavoidable.’Munshi’s family is of the Muslim population in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, and his grandfather Yakub Munshi runs the town’s sharia court.The schoolboy, who was studying for his GCSEs at Westborough High School in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, was traced through his online conversations with Khan.In one MSN chat, they argued how best to sneak a metal sword through airport security.Munshi had painstakingly scoured the internet for details on how to make napalm and grenades.He claimed he had only done the research out of curiosity but handwritten notes hidden under his bed revealed his burning desire to travel abroad to become a martyr.Munshi also had a library of videos, documents and audio clips showing acts of jihad, mujaheddin fighters and Al Qaeda preachings.He was arrested as he walked home from school after an exam..In mitigation his barrister Harendra de Silva QC told the Old Bailey that shame had been brought on a well-respected family and added: ‘This was a vulnerable youth who was manipulated by others.’Khan, who acted as an administrator on an extremist website called Activion Publications, downloaded information on the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and Camilla, Prince Edward, the Countess of Wessex, The Duke of York andthe Princess Royal.Munshi was convicted last month of making a record of information likely to be useful in terrorism. He has spent 128 days in custody.Khan was found guilty of three offences of possessing articles for a purpose connected with terrorism. Muhammad was convicted of three similar offences.
As in the days of Noah...
