Man from High Wycombe admits travelling to Syria to join IS

Shabazz Suleman, from High Wycombe, was arrested at Heathrow Airport in 2021 after disappearing while on holiday in Turkey in 2014

A man has admitted travelling to Syria to join the Islamic State group nine years ago.

Shabazz Suleman, 27, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, was 19 when he disappeared while on a family holiday to Turkey in 2014.

The former grammar school pupil was arrested at Heathrow Airport in 2021 and charged with terror offences.

He pleaded guilty to preparing acts of terrorism by travelling from the UK to Turkey in order to join IS in Syria.

Suleman was also charged with being a member of IS between 2014 and 2017 and receiving training in the use of firearms.

At the Old Bailey, Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC said his guilty plea addressed the two other charges which he asked to be left on the court file.

Referring to the defendant's basis of plea, Judge Mark Lucraft KC agreed and noted Suleman had gone to join with IS "even if not becoming a member of it".

He ordered a pre-sentence report on the defendant's dangerousness and adjourned sentencing to 26 May.

'Custodial sentence inevitable'

Remanding Suleman into custody, Judge Lucraft said: "This morning you have pleaded guilty to the preparation of terrorist acts. You will know a custodial sentence is inevitable."

Prosecutors alleged Suleman had been held by Turkish forces while attempting to travel to Syria before opting to be part of a prisoner swap with IS.

After the collapse of IS, he was taken captive by a faction of the Free Syrian Army before being transferred to Turkey and then Pakistan.

He arrived back in the UK on 29 September 2021 and was arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000.

The charges against him alleged that in August 2014, he engaged in preparation for acts of terrorism by travelling from the UK to Turkey in order to join the Islamic State group in Syria, contrary to section 5 Terrorism Act 2000.

The second charge of membership of IS related to his time in Syria between 1 August 2014 and 1 June 2017 with weapons training in the nine months after his arrival in the country.

In the course of the investigation, evidence was uncovered of messaging between the defendant and his friends and family, statements he gave to the media and his social media posts.

The prosecution had asserted that the material revealed his activities and his extreme mindset.