A MUSLIM student accused of being a “wannabe suicide bomber” was released early from prison yesterday after he was cleared by the court of appeal in Edinburgh of plotting terror attacks. He claimed he had been persecuted for “thought crimes”.
Mohammed Atif Siddique (24), from Alva, near Stirling, in central Scotland, was released part of the way through an eight-year prison sentence after the crown office said it would not oppose an appeal court ruling that he had been wrongly convicted.
Mr Siddique was jailed in October 2007 for a string of terrorism offences after downloading Islamist documents on weaponry, explosives and beheadings, and circulating them again on the internet.
He was also convicted of causing a breach of the peace at Glasgow Metropolitan College by threatening to become a suicide bomber, claiming to be an al-Qaeda member and showing images of beheadings.
But last month, appeal court judge Lord Osborne said Mr Siddique had been wrongly convicted of the most serious charge: that there was a “reasonable suspicion” the documents were being held for the “commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism”.
His family hugged each other after the news and in a statement which was read outside court by his lawyer Aamer Anwar Mr Siddique said he had been convicted of simply possessing Islamist documents.
"Our laws should bring to account those who plan acts of terror and not criminalise young Muslims for thought crime and possession of propaganda," he said. – ( Guardianservice)