London: A British man has been sentenced to five years imprisonment after he posted a string of ghastly beheading videos on a Facebook account set up by him. Craig Allan Slee, 42, from Preston, has admitted to four charges of encouraging terrorism, dissemination of terrorist publications and possession of a prohibited weapon, under the 2006 Terrorism Act.
Police had found a catalogue of disturbing videos, a text document and messages related to "jihadism" linked to a Facebook page following his arrest in July 2011 in Windermere. On sentencing him at Preston Crown Court, Judge Anthony Russell QC said the videos Slee uploaded revealed "shocking and barbaric depravity", the BBC reported.
Slee also put online links to a communique by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), claiming those from the west were "Crusaders" and encouraging terrorism. Judge Anthony Russell QC said: "It beggars belief that anyone can have an interest in such material which reveals a shocking and barbaric depravity and complete absence of any degree of humanity."
"There is no doubt that this and the other videos have been created in order to encourage people to rally to the terrorist cause, however difficult it is to comprehend that such material would have that result except for the most perverted of minds."
Slee created a Facebook page - using the alter-ego Hashim X Shakur - and created another account called FB Mujahideen.
On his Hashim X Shakur Facebook account, he claimed to be a Muslim and provided personal information about himself, the majority of which was false. He later told police he did this in order to make him sound more interesting.
However, the court heard Slee has no connection to the Taliban, sl-Qaeda or any other terrorist network or organisation. Detective Chief Superintendent Tony Mole, head of the North West Counter Terrorism Unit, said: "It is clear that Slee was a total fantasist. He had no links whatsoever to any terrorist organisations, was not a radical convert and there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest he engaged in any attack planning."
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