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Youth convicted under U.K. terror Act

London: A 30-year-old man, arrested at the Heathrow airport in 2006 as he prepared to fly to Pakistan, on Tuesday became the first person to be convicted under the British laws targeting the planning of terrorist acts.

Pakistani origin Sohail Qureshi pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey court here and was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison.

Qureshi, a resident of east London, had planned to travel to Pakistan from Heathrow Airport with cash, a night-vision, two metal batons and a computer hard drive, prosecutors said.

He also admitted possessing articles for terrorist purposes and articles likely to be useful to a terrorist.

Qureshi was charged under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006.

Prosecutor Jonathan Sharp told the court that Qureshi had planned a “two to three-week operation” in either Pakistan, Afghanistan or Pakistan’s Waziristan region after he landed in Islamabad.

“Sohail Qureshi is a dedicated supporter of Islamist extremism,” Mr. Sharp added. — PTI

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