Mohammed Shabir Ali And Mohammed Shafiq Ali Jailed For Funding Acts Of Terror Abroad

'Terror Twins' Jailed

Twin brothers who admitted raising money in England to fund terrorism abroad were jailed for three years on Wednesday.

Father-of-three Mohammed Shabir Ali and Transport for London employee Mohammed Shafiq Ali were part of a "network of support" for their brother while he was undergoing terrorist training in Somalia, the Old Bailey heard.

The 25-year-old identical twins from Tower Hamlets, east London, were recorded speaking on the phone to their brother Mohammed Shamim Ali about collecting the money from members of the public by pretending it was for charity, prosecutor Timothy Cray said.

Shabir Ali, who has studied for an NVQ and wanted to work in education, was arrested at their home, and Shafiq Ali at a business address in west London, in April.

They were originally charged with assisting another to commit acts of terrorism or in preparation for acts of terrorism, as well as having a document - 44 Ways To Support Jihad - that could be of use in terrorism.

Their guilty plea to the charge of raising money to fund terrorism was accepted instead at the Old Bailey yesterday, with the original offences lying on file.

Evidence showed that the men had read the pamphlet, which contained sections on how to raise money for terrorism abroad, Mr Cray added.

The judge told the court, where the men's wives watched from the public gallery, that he accepted that if their brother had not travelled to Somalia, they would not have committed any offence.

He said: "They are not suggested to have held anything like the most extreme leanings or views.

"They nonetheless did have a degree of what I am going to describe as relevant ideological interest at the time of this offence."

He said he took into account that the men are of previous good character and had shown a "strong element of responsibility" by giving evidence at a murder trial earlier this year when passing his sentence.

Their evidence was a "significant" factor in the conviction of four men at the same court earlier this year, he added.

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