Yassin Nassari from Ealing was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for possessing documents likely to be useful to terrorists.
Nassari, 28, was arrested at Luton Airport in May 2006 when he returned on a flight from Amsterdam.
During a search of his luggage, his computer hard drive was seized. It was found to contain documents about weapons training and how to construct the Qassam artillery rocket, a home-made device used by terrorists in the Middle East.
Police say graphic and violent videos of terrorist attacks and beheadings were later found at his West London home.
Files entitled “Preparing the fighter who is going for Jihad”, “Virtues of martyrdom in the path of Allah” and “Islamic ruling on permissibility of self-sacrificial operation – suicide or martyrdom?” were also discovered.
Analysis showed that Nassari had used internet chat rooms to communicate with other extremists, including Tariq al-Daour, who was jailed for incitement to murder earlier this month.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, Head of Counter Terrorism Command at the Metropolitan Police said,
“Nassari held the ideology, ability and determination to find and download material which would have been useful to terrorists. He communicated with other like-minded people and shared their interest in gruesome extremist material. He conducted research into how to construct and deploy weaponry commonly used by terrorists in the Middle-East.”
He continued, “What he intended to do upon his return to the UK is unclear. However, it is possible that his research could have ended up in the hands of individuals or groups willing to put it into practice.”
