A man with two previous terror-related convictions has been jailed after a proactive Met Police investigation identified that he was posting extremist and terrorist content online.
Shafi Saleem, 35 (03.03.89) of east London was sentenced on Wednesday, 31 July, at the Old Bailey to a total of ten years (nine years’ imprisonment with one year on license), for sharing Daesh propaganda footage of a series of suicide bombings onto one of his private social media feeds .
Shafi Saleem, 35, of east London
Police were able to obtain proof of this post and following further investigation by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, Saleem was arrested on 14 February 2023 at Heathrow Airport as he landed back in the UK on a flight from Pakistan. He was charged the following day.
Head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, Commander Dominic Murphy, said: “We know that extremist content online causes serious harm in communities, particularly to young and other vulnerable people, and it is often intended to radicalise and recruit people to terrorist causes. That is why we work hard to identify people who post this kind of material, and to get it removed from websites.
“Those convicted of a terrorism offence will also have conditions imposed when they get released from prison in order to minimise the risk of reoffending and protect the public.
“The fact that we have identified Saleem breaching these requirements twice now, also shows how closely we monitor them and how strictly we look to enforce them.”
Saleem was found guilty of dissemination of a terrorist publication (under Section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006) on Tuesday, 20 February, following a trial at the Old Bailey.
Saleem previously pleaded guilty to breach of a part 4 notification requirement under the Counter Terrorism Act 2008 (relating to his being in possession of an additional/unregistered SIM card), and using threatening words to cause alarm (section 4A of the Public Order Act 1986), which relates to his behaviour towards officers when he was arrested.
Online material promoting terrorism or extremis can be reported anonymously via www.gov.uk/report-terrorism
Saleem was previously jailed for two years in February 2018 for encouragement of terrorism after posting images and messages promoting Daesh on social media. He was released from prison in February 2019, and was on probation licence and subject to a ten-year Part 4 Notification Order.
In December 2020, Saleem was jailed for ten months for breaching this Part 4 Order.