The UK Government forces through terror laws to block the release of Islamic State sympathiser

Mohammed Zahir Khan, 42, was due to be freed from prison on 28 February, after serving half of his sentence for encouraging terrorism. He was jailed in May 2018 for posting in support of Islamic State online and calling for a “year of fear.”

Emergency legislation to block the automatic release of people who were convicted of terror offences has come into law.

Around 50 prisoners who were due to be released after serving half of their sentences will now have to wait until they have done two-thirds of their jail time and are considered fit for release by the Parole Board.

The legislation was rushed through Parliament – and given Royal Assent on 26 February – after Sudesh Amman was gunned down by police as he stabbed shoppers in Streatham, south London earlier this month.

Amman, 20, had been staying in a bail hostel after being released from prison, where he served half of a three year sentence he was given in December 2018 for sharing terrorist material.

There was widespread public alarm that Amman had been allowed out and the government pushed through the Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Bill.

The Bill does not apply to Northern Ireland but the government said there was no need for “immediate measures” in Ulster as none of the 50 were serving their sentences there.

The first person whose release will be delayed will be Mohammed Zahir Khan, a shopkeeper from Sunderland in north-east England, who was convicted of spreading Islamic State propaganda online.

Source: Sputnik News