Terrorist recruiter Mohammed Hamid jailed indefinitely
Mohammed Hamid has been jailed indefinitely
Friday, 07, Mar 2008 10:16
Two men who were convicted of recruiting terrorists and running training camps in Britain have been jailed.
Mohammed Hamid, 50, who once referred to himself as Osama bin London, was jailed indefinitely with a minimum term of seven-and-a-half years at Woolwich Crown Court today.
Atilla Ahmet, 44, a former senior aide of the radical cleric Abu Hamza, was jailed for six years and 11 months.
Hamid was convicted of running terrorist training camps, one of which was used by the four failed suicide bombers of July 2005.
He was jailed today for "public protection", the first time an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence has been used in a terrorist case.
In handing down the sentences Mr Justice Pitchers said: "Mohammed Hamid, you are, in my judgement, dangerous.
"You can be quite genuinely amusing and charming. You also have a real knowledge of the Koran and Islamic teaching. However, that is only one side of you," he said.
"You used your charm and knowledge of the Koran to influence others to terrorism. I believe you have sent trainees to Afghanistan.
"You continue to be a danger, not directly from your own actions, but from your ability to persuade others by criminal action to commit terrorism offences themselves."
Five followers of Hamid and Ahmet were also jailed for up to four years and 11 months last month.
Kibley Da Costa, 25, Mohammed Al-Figari, 45, and Kader Ahmed, 20, were all found guilty of attending terrorist training camps.
Mohammed Kyriacou, 19, and Yassin Mutegombwa, 23, admitted attending the camps at separate hearings.
Hamid, of east London, was convicted of running the camps and providing terrorist training in the New Forest and at a Berkshire paintballing centre in 2006.