LONDON, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- A British man who shared links on social media sites to Islamist terrorist group ISIL was Friday sent to prison for seven years by a judge in the northern England city of Newcastle.
Abdulrahman Alcharbati, 31, of Westholme Gardens, Newcastle, was sentenced after being found guilty of several terrorism offences following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court.
He was arrested following an intelligence-led investigation by Counter Terrorism Police working with the Northumbria Police force.
Police said Alcharbati used a Facebook account to share links to terrorist and extremist Islamist-related material. Over a hundred of the posts referred to either ISIL or martyrdom, anti-terrorism police said.
Martin Snowden, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said "Alcharbati was sharing and publishing terrorist material via Facebook. This material actively encouraged others to carry out terrorist activity." He was also found to have downloaded an instructional guide, which contained detailed instructions on how to make a suicide vest.
"While there was no evidence to indicate the purpose for the possession of this material, or any intended distribution of it, the very fact that it was downloaded is deeply concerning. Possession of such material is a serious offence. Should it fall into the wrong hands it could present a very real risk to public safety. Public safety is our priority and we acted quickly in conjunction with Northumbria Police in this investigation to ensure this," he added.
Snowden said terrorist groups such as ISIL rely heavily on their propaganda being shared online where it is used to radicalize, encourage support and provoke individuals to carry out attacks abroad and in Britain.
