British national who was arrested at Heathrow trying to fly to Syria join ISIS appears in court

A suspected Islamic State militant appeared in court today charged with preparing to fight in Syria after being sent back from Turkey in a wave of extraditions last week.

Mamum Rashid, 26, of Whitechapel, East London, was arrested at Heathrow Airport last Thursday after being returned to Britain in the first of a series of expulsions.

He appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today after being charged yesterday with preparation of terrorist acts under section five of the Terrorism Act 2006.

Punam Chopra, prosecuting, said: ‘The Crown says that on or before February 4, 2019 he was engaged in preparation to affect his aim to commit acts of terrorism.’

The court was told that unemployed Rashid, who lived with his parents and five siblings, had taken out two student loans and was on a one-year Skills in the Workplace course when he left Britain in July last year.

He told his mother he was going on holiday for three or four weeks but cancelled the return flight and was ‘engaged in conversations about entering into Syria,’ and fighting for ISIS, Ms Chopra said.

Rashid was detained by the Turkish authorities on February 5, and Scotland Yard’s Counter-Terrorism Command subsequently raided the family home and seized his mobile phones.

He resisted an attempt to deport him back to Britain in May but deportation went ahead last week and he was charged following his arrival at Heathrow airport on an inbound flight from Turkey last Thursday.

Sporting a long beard, Rashid appeared in the dock wearing white trousers and a grey shirt, speaking only to confirm his name, address and British nationality.

He was remanded in custody ahead of a preliminary hearing at the Old Bailey on December 6.

One German and one Danish citizen were also deported from Turkey last week and arrested on arrival in their home countries.

Turkey also tried to send a US citizen to Greece but he was refused entry and eventually sent to America.

According to the George Washington University Program on Extremism, 19 US citizens have returned to the country from Syria and 13 have been charged with criminal offences.

Turkey says it is holding more than 20 other European suspects, including several Germans, 11 French citizens and two Irish nationals and plans to return them all.

Britain, Germany and Denmark have all stripped the citizenship from dual nationals in an effort to prevent their return, including that of Shamima Begum, who is detained in a Kurdish prison camp.

Among the British citizens in Turkish custody is Aine Davis, an alleged member of the so-called Beatles kidnapping gang, who is serving a seven-year sentence for membership of ISIS.

Source: Daily Mail