NIA court finds two guilty in 2018 Coimbatore ISIS case

Kochi: A National Investigation Agency (NIA) court here on Saturday found two Coimbatore residents guilty of recruiting and propagating the ideology of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), police said.

The Special Court for Trial of NIA Cases, Kochi convicted Muhammad Azharudeen (27) of Anbu Nagar, Ukkadam, Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, and Shiek Hidayathulla alias Firoz Khan (35) of South Ukkadam.

Judge N Seshadrinathan noted that both were guilty of offences punishable under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 120B (conspiracy), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) section 38 (membership of a terrorist organisation) and 39 (supporting a terrorist organisation), and convicted them accordingly.

During the hearing on the sentence, both accused requested the court to take a lenient view, citing their family backgrounds.

"Hidayathulla is remanded to Viyyur High Security Prison for two days halt. For pronouncing sentence, both accused to be produced on September 29 physically," the court ordered.

As part of the trial, the court examined 40 witnesses. Azharudeen is also accused in another case related to an explosion in Coimbatore.

Even though there were six persons named as accused in the FIR, NIA filed a charge sheet against two accused in 2019.

The case was registered in 2018 after NIA received information that Azharudeen and his associates were propagating the ideology of the proscribed terrorist organisation ISIS, with the intention of recruiting vulnerable youth for carrying out terrorist attacks in South India, particularly in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

A report filed by NIA at the court earlier stated that Azharudeen was associated with Wahadath-e-Islami, a frontal organisation of Jamaath-e-Islami Hind, and attended various programmes of the organisation. He became the district leader of Wahadath-e-Islami in Coimbatore during 2013 and started delivering bayans (speeches) at its programmes, including at Rayan Mosque from 2013 onwards.

"The accused Muhammad Azharudeen and Shiek Hidayathulla were radicalised through material accessed online on extreme Salfi Islamic ideology since 2016 onwards and the accused used to watch speeches of radical speakers like Anwar-Al-Awlaki, Abu Bara, Moosa Cerantonio, Zahran Hashim of Sri Lanka and others," the report said.

According to the report, they also downloaded such material to their digital devices and disseminated it among associates. "Azharudeen was in touch with many Sri Lankan individuals and entities through Facebook and other encrypted social media," the NIA said.

The report added that speeches and other materials attributed to the Sri Lankan ISIS leader Zahran Hashim were forensically recovered from the digital devices and social media accounts of the accused. From 2017 onwards until March 2019, they furthered ISIS activities in South India.

NIA said that the accused had visited many places in Kerala since 2017, met their associates at various locations, and conveyed their support to ISIS.

"The accused persons also propagated the ideology of ISIS among other associates in Coimbatore in person as well as through social media and digital devices, with the intention of recruiting other persons to the proscribed organisation for furthering its objectives in India," the NIA said in the report.