A Sunderland man who tweeted support for ISIS and called for “death to Shias” has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.
Mohammed Zahir Khan had admitted encouraging terrorism, dissemination of a terror publication and stirring up religious hatred.
The 40-year-old pleaded guilty on the basis he was reckless. However, a Newcastle Crown Court judge said his denial “lacked credibility”.
Khan shared messages on social media in which he said Shia Muslims should be burnt alive. He also reposted a tweet which included an ISIS call to attack US bases in Bahrain.
Following his arrest at his convenience store, police found pro-ISIS videos on his computer.
Giving evidence, he said he “may have come across inadvertently supporting them”.
But Judge Paul Sloan dismissed Khan’s defence, saying his posts represented “deep-seated and calculated thinking.”
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In a statement released after the sentencing, Det Supt Simon Atkinson, head of investigations at Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said: “Khan openly disseminated material over the internet that promoted terrorism and hatred of others.”
