'Rapping jihadi' who boasted about wanting to behead British soldiers sentenced to 19 years in prison
A jihadist who plotted a lone-wolf knife attack has been jailed for life after a judge said he ought to have turned his back on extremism when two of his brothers were killed fighting for Islamic State in Syria.
Sahayb Abu, an aspiring rapper, bought an 18-inch sword, a knife and combat clothing as he prepared to strike last summer.
The 27-year-old, who is the fifth member of his family to be linked to extremism, also used a rap song to boast about wanting to behead British soldiers.
Abu’s half-brothers, Wail and Suleyman Aweys, were killed in Syria after leaving the UK to fight for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (IS).
His half-sister, Asma Aweys, 32, was jailed in January 2019, alongside her partner Abdulaziz Abu Munye, 29, and half brother Ahmed Aweys, 34, after she called Ariana Grande 'the devil' in the wake of the Manchester Arena attack in a family WhatsApp chat.
Asma was imprisoned for 19 months for collecting terrorist information, while her partner received 15 months for dissemination. Ahmed was jailed for 25 months for also disseminating terrorist material.
Last month an Old Bailey jury found Abu guilty of preparing to engage in terrorist acts and on Tuesday he was jailed for life and told he would have to spend a minimum of 19-years behind bars.
Sentencing him, Judge Mark Dennis QC said he should have learned from the misery that extremism had brought to his own family.
"You of all people, having seen what befell your two younger brothers when they signed up to join the IS cause in 2015 and having seen the course other members of your family have taken ... resulting in prison sentences, should have made you, at the mature age of 27, turn your back on the violent extremist cause and promote instead, peace and community that underlies the Islamic faith.”
Abu was charged alongside his older brother Muhamed, who was accused of failing to tell authorities about the plot. But the 32-year-old was acquitted of the charge following the trial.
The judge said he was satisfied that Abu had everything he needed for a "lone wolf" attack and would have carried it out but for the intervention of police.
He added: "All that remained for him to decide was the time and place for him to carry out the act of violence in furtherance of the cause he supported."
The court heard Abu had no previous terror-related convictions but had two convictions for battery in 2016 and one for possession of a knife in 2017.
While serving his most recent prison sentence he became close to convicted terrorist, Husnain Rashid, who was jailed for at least 25 years in 2018 for calling for an attack on Prince George.
Following his release from prison in March 2020, Abu spent the next three months trawling the internet for IS propaganda, including pictures of fighters in balaclavas with guns.
He spent his £400 monthly benefits on two balaclavas, body armour, gloves, a camouflage hat and two blades, including an 18in sword, paying extra to get it sharpened.
He was arrested on July 9 by armed police after discussing guns with an undercover police officer, who he met on a so-called IS supporters' Telegram chat group.
As he was sent down to begin his sentence, Sahayb Abu addressed the judge, saying: "Thank you very much.”
