Dental student receives ten-year sentence for preparing terror attack

Dental Tribune UK

Tue. 16 January 2018

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SHEFFIELD, UK: A dental student accused of having prepared an act of terrorism, among other crimes, has been sentenced to ten years in jail by the Sheffield Crown Court. Twenty-four-year-old Mohammed Abbas Idris Awan was arrested last June by the North East Counter Terrorism Unit after an intelligence operation revealed that he had ordered suspicious material like ball bearings and a catapult on eBay.

He was also found to be in possession of books and video material aimed at recruiting Islamist fighters. According to investigators, mobile phones, USB sticks and computers found at his two homes contained a significant volume of ideological material, including videos that glorify and promote the activities of the Islamic State group (IS) in Syria.

Originally from Huddersfield in Yorkshire, Awan was studying dentistry at Charles Clifford Dental Hospital in Sheffield when he was arrested. Although he denied some of the accusations, claiming that the material belonged to his older brother, an IS fighter who died committing a suicide attack in Iraq last year, jurors found him guilty of one offence of engaging in the preparation of an act of terrorism and two offences of possessing a record likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism. In addition to the ten years, he was sentenced to an extended licence period of three years.

Arrests on grounds of terrorism skyrocketed in the UK last year, with over 400 people charged with offences after high-profile attacks like those on Westminster Bridge and the Manchester Arena. Among them is another dental student from Sheffield, who was arrested in August and is currently awaiting trial. It is understood that his and Awan’s cases are not related.

The threat level for international terrorism remains severe, meaning that a new attack is highly likely, according to authorities. They are urging anyone who observes suspicious behaviour to contact the confidential Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321.

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