18/02/2008

Life Sentence For Soldier Kidnap Plotter

A man who plotted to kidnap and behead a British Muslim serving in the British Army has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Parviz Khan, 37, from Birmingham - who pleaded guilty to the plot, possessing a record or document likely to be of use to a terrorist and supplying equipment to terrorists in Pakistan last month - was told that he would have to serve a minimum of 14 years.

During the trial at Leicester Crown Court, prosecutor Nigel Rumfitt QC said that Khan was at the centre of a terrorist cell based in Birmingham, which had organised four shipments of equipment to terrorists based in Pakistan and operating against coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Mr Rumfitt said that Khan was "enraged" by the notion of Muslims serving in the British Army and told the court: "Khan decided to kidnap such a soldier with the help of drug dealers operating in Birmingham. He would be taken to a lock-up garage and there he would be murdered by having his head cut off 'like a pig'.

"This would be filmed – they would have the soldier's ID to prove who he was and the film would be released through Khan' s terrorist network to cause panic and fear with the British armed forces and the wide public."

Khan had also wanted to burn the soldier's body and parade his head on a stick."

The court also heard how he had claimed benefits totalling more than £20,000 a year, while he was planning the kidnap and execution.

Four other men have also been jailed in connection with the plot.

Basiru Gassama, 30, from Hodge Hill in Birmingham pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to a failure to disclose information about the plot and was jailed for two years.

However, he will be released as he has already been in custody for 381 days and it has been recommended that he be deported.

Mohammed Irfan, 31, from Ward End in Birmingham and Hamid Elasmar, 44, from Edgebaston, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to engaging in conduct with the intent of assisting in the commission of acts of terrorism. Irfan was jailed for four years, while Elasmar was jailed for three years and four months.

Zahoor Iqbal, 30, from Perry Barr in Birmingham, was found guilty of the same charge and was sentenced to seven years.

A sixth man, Amjad Mahmood, 32, and also from Birmingham, was found not guilty of three charges.

(KMcA)


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