Portsmouth Dad Convicted Of Terror Offences

20 May 2014, 13:19 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

A father of two from Portsmouth has become the first person in the UK to be convicted of terrorist offences in connection with the Syria conflict.

Mashudur Choudhury, 31, went to the Middle Eastern country with the intention of joining a terrorist training camp last October.

He was arrested at Gatwick Airport on his return later that month.

An official at Kingston Crown Court, south-west London, said the defendant was found guilty of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts.

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

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.''

Ms Morgan read out a number of messages exchanged by Ifthekar Jaman and the defendant via Skype.

Jaman's participation in the fighting in Syria was widely reported in the British media. It is believed he later died there.

The defendant 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.''

Choudhury will be sentenced on June 13.