Woman sentenced to life for terrorism offences

A woman from Stratford who was found guilty of multiple terrorism offences has been sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum of 17 years.

In February, Farishta Jami was convicted of two counts of engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorism under section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006 by a jury at Leicester Crown Court.

At the same court on 10 April, she was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum of 17 years.

The court heard how Jami was planning to travel to join Daesh in Afghanistan to martyr herself. A second charge related to her taking her children.

Jami had saved £1,200 to pay for one-way flights to Afghanistan for herself and her children and also researched available flights to travel to join Daesh. She had also researched weaponry and how to assemble and disassemble an AK47 rifle.

Detectives searched her address and found cash, several devices and SIM cards in a bag down the side of her bed.

The court also heard how Jami had shared graphic and violent extremist material between September 2022 and January 2024 on social media, posting videos, documents and images as well as participating in various group chats joining multiple pro-Daesh groups and channels.

She was an administrator on several of the groups, some of which had over 700 members and disseminated large amounts of propaganda including instructional videos to make devices so ISKP could see that she was loyal and committed to the cause.

Head of specialist operations for Warwickshire Police, Superintendent Darren Webster said: “This was a complex case interlinking terrorism and serious criminal offences, and we welcome the result.

“Jami’s actions had the potential for real world implications and the harm they could have cause cannot be underestimated.

“Thankfully, with excellent partnership working between ourselves and Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands, we were able to prevent this."