In possibly the first conviction and sentencing for ISIS-related activities in India, a special court today awarded a seven-year jail term to two men after they pleaded guilty of criminally conspiring to raise funds and recruiting people for the terror outfit.
District judge Amar Nath convicted accused Azhar-ul- Islam (24) from Jammu and Kashmir and Mohammed Farhan Shaikh (25) from Maharashtra, following their U-turn more than a month after the court framed charges against them.
The accused had moved an application through advocate M S Khan saying they "are remorseful of the acts alleged against them. There is no prior criminal record against them and they want to join the mainstream and want to be productive for the society and want to rehabilitate themselves".
"The applicants are pleading guilty without any pressure, threat, coercion or undue influence," the plea had said.
The court had last month framed charges against both the accused and 36-year-old Adnan Hassan for allegedly hatching a criminal conspiracy to raise funds for the ISIS and recruiting people for the terror outfit. The trial against Hassan is continuing separately before the same court.
The court had framed the charges for alleged offences of criminal conspiracy under the IPC) and under provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had registered a case against the three accused on January 28 last year. They were arrested the next day on arrival here from Abu Dhabi.
According to the probe agency, Hassan and Shaikh had been frequently visiting the UAE in connection with jobs since 2008 and 2012 respectively, while Islam had gone to join them in the UAE in July, 2015.
Hassan was earlier allegedly affiliated to the Indian Mujahideen and later got inclined towards ISIS, it alleged.
The charge sheet filed by NIA had claimed that the accused persons, in connivance with other known and unknown associates, had hatched a criminal conspiracy to propagate the ideology, recruit persons, raise funds and facilitate the travel of those recruited to Syria to join the ISIS and further its activities.
The final report said that in furtherance of the conspiracy, the accused had created multiple email IDs, used multiple mobile numbers obtained from their associates from different countries, formed various online forums and groups on Facebook, WhatsApp, Kik, VKontakte, Viber and Skype, using the internet and invited and associated like-minded persons, residents of different countries.
"The accused had formed a terrorist gang and acted as a frontal group of the ISIS and incited, motivated, invited and facilitated people of different nationalities to leave their respective countries and travel to Syria to join, support and further activities of the ISIS," it alleged.
The agency said the accused persons were actively involved in perpetuating, promoting and propagating ideologies and terrorist activities of the ISIS.
"They had voluntarily advocated and professed to be the supporters and members of the ISIS and actively supported, invited support from others, propagated and promoted unlawful activities and terrorist activities of the ISIS by exhorting, inciting, luring and influencing others to become members of this organisation by disseminating incriminating contents including sharing comments, pages, videos, images, literature and openly endorsing, justifying and glorifying the terrorist acts of the ISIS," the NIA had claimed.
"They had also raised, collected and received funds in the UAE and transferred it to their associates in India, the Philippines and Tunisia to facilitate their travel to Syria to join ISIS," the agency said.
