A 26 year old man from Humberside has today (July 16) been given a 15 year extended sentence for encouraging terrorism and sharing terrorist material.
Mohammed Mahfuz Ahmed (02/03/1999), of Crowhill Avenue in Cleethorpes, was found guilty at Sheffield Crown Court in February of one offence of Encouraging Terrorism, contrary to Section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006, and four offences of Disseminating Terrorist Publications, contrary to Section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006.
Mohammed Mahfuz Ahmed has been sentenced for 15 years, with 10 years in custody and five years on license, for encouraging terrorism and sharing terrorist material.
Ahmed received an extended sentence, comprising of 10 years in custody and five years on licence. He will be subject to a Serious Crime Prevention Order for five years and a Terrorism Notification Order for 30 years when he is released.
Ahmed was arrested as part of an intelligence led operation by Counter Terrorism Policing North East on April 18, 2024. Evidence recovered during a search of his home address revealed a deep-seated extremist mindset and an avid determination to share terrorist material online. A significant portion of this content promoted violent jihad and included official Daesh magazines and propaganda.
Ahmed was committed to reaching as many people as he could when sharing this material, which openly encouraged murder and acts of violence. He also added his own commentary to a post identifying new and ‘easy’ targets, demanding his followers to ‘Answer the Call’.
Ahmed took deliberate steps to circumvent the rules of social media platforms and to avoid the attention of moderators. When his accounts were banned, he created new accounts to share the same content again and even approached others to share material on his behalf.
Ahmed used five different accounts over a five-month period. He gathered more than 1,300 followers and received in excess of 14,000 likes in response to his content.
Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley is the Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East. He said: “Ahmed was persistent and determined in his efforts to reach as many people as possible with his posts, which often included graphic content and glorified acts of terrorism. He went to considerable lengths to seek out and share material that could not easily be found on mainstream online platforms, using hashtags to appeal to a wider audience and encourage more followers.
“The potential impact of his actions should not be underestimated. By sharing Daesh propaganda, he has promoted their cause and intentionally extended the reach and influence of their ideology.
“Sharing extremist material online is not a victimless crime and may inspire others to act. We are working tirelessly alongside our partners to remove this content and identify those who seek to legitimise terrorism in this way. If you come across extreme material online, please help us to limit the harm by reporting it at www.gov.uk/act.”