Portsmouth Man In Court Charged With Terror Offences

27 October 2014, 12:42 | Updated: 27 October 2014, 12:45

The brother of a Portsmouth man, who was killed fighting in Syria, has appeared in court charged with trying to help others to commit terrorist acts.

Mustakim Jaman, 23, spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth when he stood in the dock at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court.

Helping would-be terrorists with travel plans and collecting donations to try to replace items that were lost on the battlefield are among the alleged offences, which are said to have taken place between 1 August 2013 and 14 October this year.

Jaman was charged under section five of the Terrorism Act 2006 with having the ``intention of assisting others to commit acts of terrorism'' and of ``engaging in conduct in preparation'' for this cause.

District Judge John Zani ordered that he next appear in custody at the Old Bailey on 14 November.

Jaman, of Hudson Road, is the brother of Ifthekar Jaman who was killed last year.

He is alleged to have given ``a group of men a lift to a train station knowing that they intended to travel to Turkey and onwards to Syria to join the non-government forces in the ongoing conflict''.

He is also charged with ``giving advice to a Whatsapp user about how to travel to Syria without being detected, including shaving off his beard and travelling with others''.

Another of his brothers, 26-year-old Tuhin Shahensha was remanded in custody following a brief first appearance at Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London last Friday (24 October). He is charged with one count of preparing acts of terrorism.

He allegedly bought military gloves and a solar shower and had a bag packed ready to leave the country before being arrested by counter-terror police.

Sporting a long beard, dark brown top and glasses and with his hair tied back in a ponytail, Shahensha spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth.

District Judge John Zani remanded him in custody and sent the case to the Old Bailey, where the defendant will appear for a preliminary hearing on 14 November.

Shahensha, of Hudson Road in Southsea, is charged with having the intention to commit acts of terrorism or assist another to do so between 1 August 2013 and 14 October this year, contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006.

He is accused of asking social media users, some of whom he believed to be in Syria and taking part in the fighting there, how to travel without a passport, how to get through security at the airport and what to expect when he arrived.

It is also alleged that he purchased a number of items over the internet such as solar showers and military gloves and had a pre-packed bag in readiness to leave the country.