28/09/23
Oxford woman jailed for distributing terrorist publications
A 23-year-old woman has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for terrorism offences.
Roma Iqbal, from Oxford, pleaded guilty to distributing Islamist extremist content on 10 December 2021.
Winchester Crown Court heard the 23-year-old had helped set up a website called the People of Tawhid to support the terrorist suspect Abu Hamza.
The FBI intercepted 25,000 messages between the two, discussing admiration of the Islamic State (IS) group.
Serena Gates, prosecuting, said Ms Iqbal would use a variety of social media platforms to discuss the terrorist organisation.
These included Signal, WhatsApp, TikTok and Telegram, as well as using encrypted messaging on the sites to avoid detection.
She said that the documents she shared "glorified" the 9/11 terror attacks in the US.
"The defendant accepts the result of her conduct to be the direct or indirect encouragement or inducement of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism," she said, adding that Ms Iqbal held an "extremist mindset".
A number of IS propaganda videos were also found on her devices, the court heard.
The communication between the defendant and Benjamin Carpenter, also known as Abu Hamza, including messages including one in which she wrote: "I told you I like to take risks, get locked up and convert the sisters inside, work our way outwards."
Ms Gates said: "There was some degree of infatuation by the defendant about Abu Hamza, it doesn't indicate that the defendant is exploited by Abu Hamza but does seek his approval.
"But clearly she is a bright, articulate individual who knows what she is doing."
Hossein Zahir, defending, said: "She was seeking approval of a group of older men in a cause she felt worthwhile.
"She clearly enjoyed their attention and in relation to Mr Carpenter, the position was even more nuanced with a degree of infatuation, she really has been drawn in but this is not a relationship of equals."
Mr Zahir said Iqbal suffered from anxiety and depression and had "sought a family online".
He said she had been brought up in a "dysfunctional family" by a father who had mental health problems and used "abusive and controlling behaviour".
Sentencing Iqbal to four-and-a-half years in prison, with an extra year on licence, Judge Jane Miller told her: "It was a combination of your low self-esteem, isolation and depression that caused you to seek the affirmation that you did and act as you did.
"You are clearly an intelligent young woman and on balance, despite the extremist mindset that you developed, I do not think you will be as stupid to act in this way again."
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