Birmingham man jailed for terrorism offence

A 23-year-old man from Birmingham has been jailed for six years after admitting being a member of a proscribed terrorism organisation.

Musa Abdrabba pleaded guilty in September to two charges of belonging to a proscribed organisation. He described himself as an Islamic State media activist.

Abdrabba was arrested by detectives from Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands in Sparkhill in October 2023.

Three phones were seized and examined. They were found to contain terrorism material including extremely violent videos and bomb making instructions.

Between January and October 2023, Abdrabba used an alias online to provide a media service for, and on behalf of, ISIS to other supporters.

He would translate social media posts, create content and engagement as well as offering advice on how to evade detection from authorities online.

Head of Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands, Detective Chief Superintendent Alison Hurst said: “After Abdrabba pledged his allegiance to ISIS in August 2023, he was fully committed to the role of media facilitator to ensure their propaganda was widely shared and updated.

“He took it upon himself to provide a service to a proscribed organisation and posted extremist material glorifying ISIS, he had no regard for the corrosive impact or the radicalising effect that the material could have on others in our communities.”