Portsmouth Dad Jailed Over Terror Trip To Syria

5 December 2014, 16:24 | Updated: 5 December 2014, 16:27

A father of two from Portsmouth has been jailed for four years for travelling to Syria to attend a terrorist training camp.

Mashudur Choudhury, 31, the first person in the UK to be convicted of terror offences in connection with the Middle East conflict, was sentenced today at Kingston Crown Court in south west London, staff confirmed.

He was found guilty by a jury in May of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts, having been arrested when he arrived back at Gatwick Airport from the trip in October 2013.

During the two-week trial, the court heard that Choudhury, of Stubbington Avenue, travelled to Syria with four other people from his local area.

The trial heard that he used Skype to send messages to Ifthekar Jaman, who is believed to have been killed fighting in Syria.

The jury was told Choudhury wrote a message to suggest that the group he was travelling with should be called the ``Britani brigade Bangladeshi bad boys''.

The court also heard details of text messages sent between Choudhury and his wife.

In one message, she wrote: ``Go die in battlefield. Go die, I really mean it just go. I'll be relieved. At last. At last.''

Alison Morgan, prosecuting, told the jury: ``The evidence clearly shows that this defendant planned for and then travelled to Syria with the intention of attending a training camp.

``The training was to include the use of firearms and the purpose of fighting was to pursue a political, religious or ideological cause.

``At times in his discussions with others the defendant described his intention to become a martyr.''