Birmingham man jailed for Daesh membership

A Birmingham man has been jailed for terrorism offences after being found guilty of being a member of a proscribed organisation and sharing extremist material on a WhatsApp group.

Twenty-eight year-old Kyle Marcano was found guilty after a trial at Birmingham Crown Court in April of four counts of dissemination of terrorist publications and one count of membership of a proscribed organisation.

He was jailed on 1 August for 11 years.

During the trial, the court heard that Marcano had been in a chat group which shared terrorism material. Marcano had pledged an oath of allegiance to the then leader of Daesh. Marcano was also found guilty of sending terrorist publications with intent, including a Daesh recruitment video.

Marcano pleaded guilty to four offences last November including sending terrorist publications.

Marcano was arrested in March 2023 for an unrelated offence where officers seized his phone which was subsequently examined revealing his inclusion in the chat group which shared terrorism material. He was then arrested for terrorism offences.

A second man, who was also part of the same chat group, pleaded guilty at a hearing in January this year. Muhammed Maroof, aged 19 from Birmingham, pleaded guilty to four offences of distributing terrorist material. He was sentenced to four years and 10 months earlier this year.

Head of CTP West Midlands CTU, detective chief superintendent Alison Hurst, said: “The jury found Marcano guilty of being a fully-fledged member of Daesh from the evidence that was presented during the trial.

“Marcano and Maroof knowingly shared videos and images containing very disturbing and dangerous content.

“We will continue to protect local communities by working with partners and the CPS to pursue and prosecute all those who show support for terrorism.

“We work tirelessly to counter terrorism. Our absolute priority is to ensure the safety and security of the people who live, work and visit the West Midlands area.”

Marcano was also given a four-year extended licence having been assessed as a dangerous offender.