The Guardian : Terror charge jail term for man carrying rocket blueprint

Terror charge jail term for man carrying rocket blueprint

Shenai Raif | The Guardian | July 18, 2007

A man who had blueprints for a rocket in his luggage at Luton airport was jailed yesterday for three and a half years on a terror charge. Yassin Nassari, 28, of Ealing, west London, was found guilty at the Old Bailey on Friday of having documents useful for terror.

London-born Nassari was said by the prosecution to be preparing to go abroad to fight non-Muslim soldiers in the expectation of becoming a terrorist martyr. But the jury cleared him of the more serious offence of having articles for terror.

His Dutch wife, Bouchra El Hor, 24, was cleared of failing to disclose information on terror.

Judge Gerald Gordon said Nassari had been described as a "Jack the Lad" and there was no evidence to show the material would be used for terror. But it was an offence to possess the material and "the sooner that is understood the better".

The couple and their five-month-old baby were stopped at the airport in May last year as they returned from trips to Syria and Holland. Nassari's hard drive was found and was later discovered to contain plans for building a missile similar to those used by Hamas in the Middle East, the Old Bailey was told. Nassari denied knowledge of the material, saying he had lent his computer to another man.

A letter from his wife, a university dropout, apparently encouraging him to become a martyr was also found in Nassari's possessions. But she told the court the letter was a work of fiction.

Aftab Jafferjee, prosecuting, said Nassari had studied at Westminster University, where the welfare officer had described him as "wearing western clothes and enjoying a drink". After a break from his studies he reappeared sporting long robes and headgear, referring to himself as emir of the student's Islamic society.

Lawrence McNulty, defending, said the missile information came off the internet and a lot more skill, material and equipment would have been needed to make it work.