Two men who 'encouraged terrorism' through posts on Instagram while they were teenagers have walked free from court following what a Judge called 'powerful mitigation'.
Luqmaan Ahmed and Kashif Riaz published posts including 'distressing' images of child war victims in Syria on an account called 'thefightersofthetruth' and 'supporterofmujahideen' in 2018, and sent 'propaganda' videos made by 'armed militia' opposing the Assad regime between each other and to two other individuals. The court heard how the men, who were 16 and in Year 10 at the time, had become interested in the war in Syria following the Manchester Arena attack in 2017.
The pair walked free after Judge Field KC handed them community orders on December 2 at Manchester Crown Court. The court heard how they had an 'adolescent fantasy' of helping solve problems in Syria, and had 'no understanding' of the influence of their posts on others.
