Man who posted Isis videos on Google+ account with two followers jailed for five years

Crackdown on access to extremist material intensifying amid wave of attacks

Authorities are cracking down on access to extremist propaganda (Reuters)

A man has been jailed for uploading Isis videos to a Google+ account with two followers as a crackdown on the spread of terrorist propaganda continues.

Sagheer Hussain, from Bradford, was sentenced to five years in prison for uploading extremist footage at Leeds Crown Court.

The court heard how the 39-year-old had uploaded three videos to his Google+ profile via his YouTube account that were supportive of Isis.

“He had also added comments to these videos, again in support of Isis,” a spokesperson for the North East Counter Terrorism Unit said.

“Although the Google+ account only had two followers, because it was uploaded to a public account, over 25,000 views had been recorded before they were removed from internet.”

Hussain, of Bishop Street, was arrested by counter-terror police in January 2016 and charged with three counts of disseminating terrorist publication in August.

Detective Chief Superintendent Clive Wain, head of counter-terror policing in the North East, said: “Sagheer Hussain openly shared videos from a terrorist group over the internet.

“Terrorist groups such as Daesh [Isis] rely heavily on their propaganda being shared online where it is used to radicalise, encourage support and provoke individuals to carry out attacks abroad and in the UK.

“Tackling extremist material is an essential part of protecting the public and preventing offences that incite or encourage acts of terrorism.”

When Isis declared the formation of the so-called Islamic State in 2014, its propaganda was easily accessible online via mainstream social media and blogging websites, with foreign fighters able to post regular calls to supporters on Twitter.

But an international crackdown that intensified in the wake of a series of gory propaganda videos showing the beheading of hostages including James Foley and David Haines, has made the material much harder to access.

Isis propaganda has been discovered in the possession of terrorists including the Spain attackers and plotters across Europe, prompting warnings from authorities over its power to radicalise and instruct jihadis.

The group’s sophisticated machine includes branches putting out videos, online magazines and material in multiple languages that aims to radicalise Muslims, garner support, encourage people to travel to Isis territories and coach them on how to carry out deadly attacks.

Experts have warned that the threat is increasing as the group loses key territory in Iraq and Syria, with it turning to high-profile massacres as an alternative way of retaining momentum, as some supporters prevented from leaving the UK turn to terror.

Mark Rowley, the head of national counter terrorism policing, said the Metropolitan Police had recently arrested “individuals who have been inspired by the propaganda online…and decide to pick up a weapon and act in the name of Isis”.

He said that whereas the IRA and al-Qaeda had “a very tight network of wicked individuals who are plotting terrorist acts, what we’re wrestling with today is something which is more of a cultish movement where they are putting out propaganda and saying ‘anybody and everybody, act in our name and you’re part of our terrorist campaign’.”

Recent arrests include that of a 26-year-old London man, Zana Abbas Sulieman, accused of publishing a 16-page Isis magazine and video on Facebook, and a 22-year-old suspect from Sheffield, Abdulrahman Kaabar, who has been charged with possessing and disseminating terrorist publications.

Police are urging anyone who sees extremist content online to report their concerns anonymously to specialist officers via www.gov.uk/report-terrorism or by contacting the police in confidence on 0800 789321.