Great Glen Man Jailed For 12 Years For Terror Offences

A man from Great Glen who funded the Islamic State terror group using Bitcoin has been jailed for 12 years.

Hisham Chaudhary, of Chestnut Drive, had denied converting tens of thousands of pounds into the cryptocurrency to back the organisation, but was found guilty of seven terror offences.

The judge at Birmingham Crown Court said the 28-year-old, who is thought to have been a member of IS since 2016, was ‘a committed extremist.’

Hisham Chaudhary Pic: Counter Terrorism Policing Unit North East

He was given a 12-year custodial sentence with an additional five-year extension on licence after a Probation Service report concluded “he posed a high risk of harm to the public”.

Chaudhary was arrested by counter-terrorism police at his home on 12 November last year, after MI5 and police launched an investigation.

Detective Chief Superintendent Martin Snowden, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said: “From the comfort of his home in the UK, Hisham Chaudhary took an active role in promoting, supporting and funding terrorism.

“It is evident he was a valued member of [IS], one who had consistently demonstrated his allegiance through his actions.

“Despite the weight of the evidence against him, Hisham Chaudhary has tried to present himself as a humanitarian. He is in fact a terrorist and has been recognised as such by the jury.”