Younes Tsouli - Arrest and Conviction

Arrest and Conviction

On 11 September 2005, a group calling itself "al-Qaeda in Northern Europe" posted a declaration on the al-Ansar web site. Following this, 18-year-old Swedish citizen Mirsad Bektašević, who was one of those responsible for the declaration, travelled to Bosnia where he and Abdulkadir Cesur filmed a video in which they wore ski masks, and, surrounded by weapons and explosives, said that they intended to attack sites in Europe to punish nations with forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. On 17 October 2005 Bektašević was arrested in Sarajevo, and analysis of his laptop identified Tsouli in his buddy list and his mobile phone records showed that he had recently called Tsouli. The Metropolitan Police were informed, and on 21 October 2005, Tsouli was arrested in a raid on a house in Shepherds Bush, London. He was charged under the UK's Terrorism Act 2000 for "conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to cause an explosion, conspiracy to obtain money by deception, fundraising and possession of articles for terrorist purposes".

The trial began in May 2007. Judge Peter Openshaw caused some controversy when he halted the trial to ask what a web site was, saying "The trouble is I don’t understand the language. I don’t really understand what a website is." Following this, Professor Tony Sammes was called upon to give a presentation which explained what the internet is, how people can access the internet, and what web sites are.

At the trial, Tsouli's technical skills were emphasised. Evan Kohlmann testified, "007 came at this with a Western perspective. He had a flair for marketing, and he had the technical knowledge and skills to be able to place this stuff in areas on the net where it wouldn’t be easily erased, where lots of people could download it, view it and save it."

On 4 July 2007, after two months at trial, Tsouli and his co-defendants Waseem Mughal and Tariq Al-Daour pleaded guilty to "inciting another person to commit an act of terrorism wholly or partly outside the UK which would, if committed in England and Wales, constitute murder" (a crime introduced in the Terrorism Act 2006) and admitted to conspiring together and with others to defraud banks, credit card companies and charge card companies. Tsouli was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, Mughal to 7½ years, and Al-Daour to 6½ years. On 18 December 2007, at the Court of Criminal Appeal, the sentences of all three men were increased - Tsouli’s sentence was increased to 16 years, Mughal to 12 years and Al Daour 12 years. At the time of their conviction, Tsouli was 23 years old, Mughal was 24 years old, and al-Daour was 21 years old.