Three men have been found guilty of helping a teenager who followed his older brother from Cardiff to Syria to join Islamic State fighters.
Kristen Brekke, Adeel Ulhaq and Forhad Rahman were on trial at the Old Bailey accused of assisting a 17-year-old jihadi in travelling to Syria from the UK.
Aseel Muthana left home in Cardiff on 21 February 2014 to join Isis and has not returned. His older brother, Nasser Muthana, whom he idolised, had travelled there with four others from Cardiff three months before, the court heard.
Nasser later helped make an Isis propaganda video called There Is No life Without Jihad, which was released in June 2014.
Prosecutor Annabel Darlow QC had told jurors that all three defendants shared the same “highly radical ideology” and support for waging war in Syria.
Two of the defendants, Rahman and Ulhaq, were part of a network of friends online who were committed to the Isis ideology, the court heard. That group also included two brothers from Portsmouth, Tuhin Shahensha and Mustaqim Jaman. A third related man, Ifthekar Jaman, was killed while fighting in Syria for Isis, in December 2013. All three defendants played different roles in their mission to help Muthana reach Syria and all but Brekke expressed a desire to follow suit, the court heard.
Rahman was key in funding Muthana’s trip. Ulhaq had good contacts in Syria and gave practical advice, while Brekke helped purchase equipment and let the teenager use his computer.
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