A man who used Bitcoin to free Isis militants from detention in Syria has been jailed for 12 years.
Hisham Chaudhary is believed to be the third person convicted of being a member of Isis in the UK.
Chaudhary, from Oadby in Leicestershire, was also found guilty of two counts of entering terrorist fundraising arrangements aiming to free jihadis captured in Syria.
The court heard that the number of people he was involved in freeing is not known, but in an October 2019 he wrote: “We’ve been doing this for years but no one has been caught by the virtue of Allah.”
Following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court, he was also convicted of four counts of disseminating terrorist material for organising the publication of Isis propaganda.
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Judge Paul Farrer QC said Chaudhary had been a member of Isis since at least 2016, and was “trusted and respected” by fellow jihadis.
“You were involved in organising funding for the extraction of Isis supporters from detention camps in Syria and their subsequent smuggling back to Isis-controlled areas,” he told the defendant while sentencing him on Friday.
“You were not simply an individual who raised money, you had an organising role including contact with individuals negotiating with smugglers on price and routes.”
Judge Farrer said the two incidents prosecuted, involving American and Dutch Isis members in 2019, were just “examples” of long-running behaviour.
One of the people he was working to free was a woman in the al-Hol camp, where Shamima Begum was formerly held, who wanted to be smuggled out before she could be repatriated to the Netherlands with her children.
When asked about the case Chaudhary asked his contact to specify “which sister” he meant because he was working on freeing several.
Kurdish authorities have repeatedly warned that they cannot secure prisons and camps indefinitely, and urged countries including the UK to repatriate captured Isis members.
Timeline of the Isis caliphate Show all 19
1/19Timeline of the Isis caliphate
Timeline of the Isis caliphate ISIS began as a group by the merging of extremist organisations ISI and al-Nusra in 2013. Following clashes, Syrian rebels captured the ISIS headquarters in Aleppo in January 2014 (pictured)
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Timeline of the Isis caliphate Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi declared the creation of a caliphate in Mosul on 27 June 2014
Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis conquered the Kurdish towns of Sinjar and Zumar in August 2014, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes. Pictured are a group of Yazidi Kurds who have fled
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Timeline of the Isis caliphate On September 2 2014 Isis released a video depicting the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff. On September 13 they released another video showing the execution of British aid worker David Haines
Timeline of the Isis caliphate The US launched its first airstrikes against Isis in Syria on 23 September 2014. Here Lt Gen William C Mayville Jnr speaks about the bombing campaign in the wake of the first strikes
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Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis militants sit atop a hill planted with their flag in the Syrian town of Kobani on 6 October 2014. They had been advancing on Kobani since mid-September and by now was in control of the city’s entrance and exit points
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Timeline of the Isis caliphate Residents of the border village of Alizar keep guard day and night as they wait in fear of mortar fire from Isis who have occupied the nearby city of Kobani
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Timeline of the Isis caliphate Smoke rises following a US airstrike on Kobani, 28 October 2014
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Timeline of the Isis caliphate YPG fighters raise a flag as they reclaim Kobani on 26 January 2015
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Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis seized the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on 20 May 2015. This image show the city from above days after its capture by Isis
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Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces are stationed on a hill above the town of Sinjar as smoke rises following US airstrikes on 12 November 2015
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Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces enter Sinjar after seizing it from Isis control on 13 November 2015
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Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi government forces make the victory sign as they retake the city of Fallujah from ISIS on 26 June 2016
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Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi forces battle with Isis for the city of Mosul on 30 June 2017
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Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of the Iraqi federal police raise flags in Mosul on 8 July 2017. On the following day, Iraqi prime minister Haider Al Abadi declares victory over Isis in Mosul
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Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign
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Timeline of the Isis caliphate Female fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim Square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign
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Timeline of the Isis caliphate Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria in January 2019 They were among the last civilians to be living in the ISIS caliphate, by this time reduced to just two small villages in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor
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Timeline of the Isis caliphate Zikia Ibrahim, 28, with her two-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter, after fleeing the Isis caliphate, on Saturday 26 January 2019
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The court heard that Chaudhary processed more than ￡50,000 of Bitcoin in 2018 and 2019, receiving money from Isis supporters and using those funds to “extract Isis personnel”.
In 2016, he had attempted to travel to Syria and offer assistance to the terrorist group.
Chaudhary claimed his actions were motivated by humanitarian concerns but Judge Farrer rejected his assertions and said his defence “lacked logical coherence”.
He said Chaudhary’s commitment to Isis was demonstrated by his involvement in the spread of official propaganda that encouraged terror attacks, and that he was “well-connected” within the group.
Judge Farrer sentenced Chaudhary to 12 years’ imprisonment in total for the seven terrorism offences, and added an extended five-year licence period.
He told the extremist he would be considered for release at the two-thirds point of his sentence, but must satisfy the Parole Board that he no longer presents a risk to the public.
He will then be subject to licence conditions and requirements under a 30-year terrorist notification order.
Chaudhary, who was arrested in November 2019, had denied all offences and tried to present himself as a humanitarian.
Prosecuting, Simon Davis QC told the court that Chaudhary had discussed release operations in online chats, at one point talking about “the lion being released”.
He said that shortly before his arrest, he had sought to pledge allegiance to the new leader of Isis following the killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
A woman carrying a toddler walks through the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp for the displaced where families of Islamic State foreign fighters are held
(AFP via Getty Images)
Baghdadi had specifically called for Isis to work to free imprisoned members in a September 2019 speech, saying: “Soldiers of the caliphate, your brothers and sisters suffer in prison. Work hard to rescue them.”
Mr Davis said Chaudhary was also “closely aligned” with official Isis media outlets and was allowed to open a Twitter account on the group’s behalf.
“This was never humanitarian; this was a man entrenched in Isis ideology who was out to support a terrorist agenda,” he added.
“This was quite clearly a targeted approach to release prisoners, the inference being this was Isis-driven. There was significant fundraising from Isis supporters around the globe, which he orchestrated.”
Gul Nawaz Hussain QC, defending, said Chaudhary – who appeared in court wearing a grey suit and with a ponytail and beard – was “making progress in the right direction” while detained.
“He is someone on the road to hell with good intentions, who has clearly taking a wrong turn but is starting to come to terms with what he’s done,” he added.
Detective Chief Superintendent Martin Snowden, the head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said: “From the comfort of his home in the UK, Chaudhary took an active role in promoting, supporting and funding terrorism.
“It is evident he was a valued member of Daesh, one who had consistently demonstrated his allegiance through his actions.”