Low IQ teen convicted for Syria plan

Yahya Rashid: Went to Syrian border - but then came back

A London man described in court as vulnerable with a low IQ has been convicted of attempting to join Islamic State jihadists in Syria.

Yahya Rashid, 19, was found guilty of two counts of preparing acts of terrorism.

Woolwich Crown Court heard he used a student loan to fund travel for himself and friends to Turkey.

His defence told the trial that Rashid had been manipulated by others and never intended to fight with IS.

The teenager from Willesden in north-west London admitted that in February he had travelled to Turkey via Morocco with friends who wanted to join the self-styled Islamic State.

The jury heard he had fraudulently secured a place at university and then used student funding to pay for the group's flights.

After initially staying in an IS safe house near the Syrian border, and coming under pressure from his family, Rashid abandoned the group and flew home. His companions are now believed to be in Syria.

Pressure on the phone: Rashid's father urged him repeatedly to return home

After his arrest at Luton Airport, Rashid gave police a detailed account of what had happened, saying he had been attracted to "army stuff".

Mark McDonald, defending, said expert evidence placed Rashid in the bottom 2% of his peer group for IQ and that he had learning difficulties at school. He did not appreciate how he could be groomed and used.

He asked the jury to consider whether his client's limited intellectual capacity meant he had become easy prey for a group determined to go to Syria to fight - but without the means to get there.

During his own evidence, Rashid was accompanied by a court-appointed intermediary to assist him if he became confused.

"If I was making up I wouldn't be here," he said. "If I really wanted to go fight I'd probably be dead now."

But prosecutor Mark Weekes said the evidence showed Rashid understood what he had intended to do and therefore had to face the consequences of breaking the law. He had given clear answers to the police which explained his motivations - and had also shared extreme material online.

Commander Richard Walton, head of the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command, said: "Rashid made the right decision eventually to return to his family but had, by then, committed terrorist offences.

"He prepared to join the proscribed terrorist group - Islamic State - and assisted others in their preparation to travel to Syria too."

Prior to the trial, Rashid pleaded guilty to fraudulently gaining a university place and student loan.

Update 18 November: Rashid was given a five-year sentence in a young offenders institution.

Sentencing him, Judge Philip Katz QC said: "You lied on your oath before the jury and they saw through your lies and your evasions. I do accept that you are of below average intelligence and that you are a hanger-on, rather than a leader. You told the jury you had never held a gun in your life, and there is no reason to believe that is untrue."