Muslim Student Freed after Court Quashes Terrorism Conviction
Mohammed Atif Siddique, a British student from central Scotland, had been jailed for 8 years in 2007. He was convicted for 4 offenses under terrorism and breach of peace laws, which included distributing terrorist material online. However, he won a court appeal on Tuesday that quashed his sentence by overturning the most serious of the convictions against him. This accounted for 6 of the years he was to spend in jail. This means that he has technically served his time already and can go free.
Judges confirmed a ruling in January that Siddique suffered from a miscarriage of justice after the jury was misdirected by the trial judge. His lawyers argued last year in an appeal that much of the material in his client’s possession was available online already, and this helped to secure the conviction. They also argued that the original trial judge failed to direct the jury that they had to establish a connection between the materials that were found in Siddique’s possession and a specific terrorism act.
Scotland Crown Office prosecutors said they wouldn’t go after a retrial, because it would have little effect. In their opinion, Siddique already served the majority of his sentence for the offense that was quashed, as well as served the full sentence for the other 3 charges, which he’s still convicted of.
After the court appearance, Siddique’s lawyer read a statement by his client, saying that the law should hold those who plan terrorism acts accountable without criminalizing young Muslims for possession of propaganda and thought crime. He has always kept his innocence, but his liberty has been taken, the reputation of his family has been destroyed and he has been labeled a terrorist. However, he never had any plans to hurt anyone. The court said he was a wannabe suicide bomber, the statement ended, but he was only looking for answers online.