Ruling may help Scots 'terrorist'

A SCOTTISH student jailed for terrorism-related offences hopes that a Court of Appeal decision in England may help to free him.

Five men jailed for similar crimes walked free yesterday. Lord Chief Justice Lord Phillips, sitting with two other judges, quashed their convictions and ordered their release.

The ruling will be scrutinised by lawyers planning an appeal against the conviction of Mohammed Atif Siddique, a Scottish student who last year was jailed for eight years for possessing and distributing terrorism-related materials on the internet.

Four of the jailed men, all Bradford University students, were arrested after a London schoolboy, Mohammed Irfan Raja, ran away from home in February 2006.

He left a note for his parents saying that he was going to fight abroad and that they would meet again in heaven, the Old Bailey heard last year. The prosecution said they were all planning to go to Pakistan for training before going to fight for the jihad.

Raja, now 20, of Ilford, east London, and students Awaab Iqbal, 20, of Bradford, West Yorkshire; Aitzaz Zafar, 21, of Rochdale, Lancashire; Usman Ahmed Malik, 22, of Bradford; and Akbar Butt, 21, of Southall, west London, who faced charges for having extreme material on their computers, were present in the dock of the court yesterday for the ruling.

Last night, Aamer Anwar, Siddique's lawyer, said he would be meeting Imran Khan, who represents the five freed men, within weeks.

"This decision will be scrutinised by us to see if there are any implications," Mr Anwar said.