Mohammed Gul convicted for making extremist videos, London

A man who created extremist videos and uploaded them onto the internet was today [Thursday 24 February 2011] convicted of terrorist offences following an investigation by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command.

Mohammed Gul, 23, of Elm Park Avenue, Hornchurch, posted movies he had created, as well existing extremist videos, on You Tube.

He also made a compilation video on his laptop by editing footage of attacks on coalition soldiers together with logos of terrorist groups and extremist commentary. Gul then used the family computer to put the clip on the web before posting links to on an online chat room.

Gul was found guilty of five counts of dissemination of terrorist publications contrary to Section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006 following a trial at the Old Bailey. The jury heard he transmitted terrorist publications which could have encouraged the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

The jury found him not guilty of one count of dissemination of terrorist publications contrary to Section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006.

He will be sentenced on Friday 25 February 2011.

Between March 2008 and February 2009 Gul uploaded extremist videos to You Tube under four different accounts, three of which were subsequently suspended by You Tube due to the content of the movies.

Under accounts named ‘marinetargetcorp’, ‘marinetargetinc’, ’35marines’ and ‘marinetargetboy’ he posted videos including footage of attacks on coalition forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, the making of and detonation of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), terrorist training camps and footage of the 9/11 attacks in New York.

He then moved on to creating a compilation video of extremist material relating to the situation in Gaza following the conflict with Israel in December 2008.

The movie file, Liiamara.mov, created by Gul from available audio and video media, depicted images from Gaza and then of IED explosions of cars and tanks with a red circle superimposed to highlight the bodies falling out of the vehicles. It also included images from other conflicts around the world, including IED attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a sniper attack on a coalition soldier.

Arabic scripture and chanting (Nasheeds) were used out of context and added to these images to promote terrorist ideology.

Gul was arrested at his home address on Tuesday 10 February 2009. Officers searched the premises and recovered two computers and a number of storage devices containing the extremist material.

A large amount of extremist material was also found including footage of executions and martyrdom videos by suicide bombers.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Osborne, Senior National Co-ordinator Counter Terrorism, said: "The videos posted on the internet by Gul were inflammatory and clearly had the potential to incite terrorism.

"The clips graphically showed acts of terrorism and the logos of known terrorist groups.

"This is one of the first successful prosecutions relating to disseminating terrorist publications via the internet and shows our commitment to tackling those who support and encourage terrorism whatever means they use."