Lancashire Islamic State supporter jailed for life for terror offences
Husnain Rashid will serve a minimum of 25 years after pleading guilty to four counts of engaging and encouraging acts of terrorism
Last updated 13th Jul 2018
A Lancashire supporter of so-called Islamic State has been jailed for life with a minimum of 25 years.
Husnain Rashid, from Nelson, pleaded guilty to four counts of encouraging and preparing for acts of terrorism.
While living in Nelson, he was providing support, assistance and encouragement to terrorists around the world.
He set up an online 'e-toolkit' for lone wolf terrorists, containing advice for carrying out attacks, while also launching encrypted online platforms for extremists to access.
The court heard how he had been in touch with a terrorist fighting on the front line in Syria, where he was advising him how to take down aircrafts using lasers.
He called for an attack on Prince George, posting a picture of the Royal, superimposed with images of jihadists. He then also encouraged attacks on his school, circulating the address and postcode.
This is the moment he was arrested by police:
Will Chatterton, from North West Counter Terrorism, said:
"It is a very successful mission, we were faced with some real challenges from an investigative perspective, given the complexity of the encryption channels used to to get through that and disrupt him is a real feather in the cap for Counter Terrorism policing here in the North West.
"He was creating an online jihadi magazine, designed to provide encouragement and support to lone wolf terrorists. He was also managing and creating social media platforms, again for lone wolfs. That enabled us to launch an investigation.
"It was shocking for many reasons, one was the level on sophistication, but it was the sheer volume, colossal amounts of data that he had created. He had put together a e-toolkit for terrorists, so he was a very, very dangerous individual.
"This will serve as a lesson to people like that who think that they're working in a safe, online environment and promoting terrorism, in essence, from their own bedroom."