Abdullahi Ahmed Jama Farah, who is cousin of two sisters who also fled to Syria, used his home as ‘communications hub’

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The cousin of two sisters who fled their Manchester home to join Islamic State is facing jail for helping a friend go to Syria to fight jihad.

A-level student Abdullahi Ahmed Jama Farah, 20, created a “hub of communication” from his mother’s home in Manchester for his “Mandem” group of like-minded extremists.

Following a trial at the Old Bailey he was found guilty of preparing for terrorist acts by helping Nur Hassan, 19, also from Manchester, achieve his aim of travelling to Syria to fight.

It can now be reported that Jama Farah is related to Zhara and Salma Halane, who at the age of 16 left their home in Chorlton, Manchester, in June 2014 and are believed to have married Isis fighters.

The prosecutor Gareth Patterson had told jurors it was clear that Jama Farah supported Isis from what was found on his computers as well as messages on WhatsApp and social media. Patterson said he performed an “important role as the hub of communication” in the UK.

Jama Farah, who is Danish and of Somali origin, was in communication with four other friends abroad, two of whom are believed to have been killed and another badly injured in fighting.

His cousin Ahmed Ibrahim Halane, known as Pie, from Manchester, went to Somalia in September 2013, where he is thought to have joined the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ahmed Ibrahim Halane, also known as Pie, seen at Cairo airport on his way to Somalia to join al-Shabaab. Photograph: Greater Manchester Police/PA

Halane, the brother of the two sisters, is currently in Copenhagen and is banned from returning to the UK.

Close friends Raphael Hostey, Mohammed Javeed and Khalil Raoufi headed from north-west England to Syria on 6 October 2013, to join Isis, the court heard.

Raoufi and Hostey went on to encourage others from England and around the world in postings on Twitter to join them.

Raoufi, also known as Abu Layth, was killed in combat in February 2014 and Hostey, or Al Qaqa, was shot in the foot. Javeed, nicknamed Prinny, ended up in Iraq where, it emerged during the trial, he blew himself up in a suicide attack.

During his evidence, Jama Farah confirmed that when he twice discussed with his friends “doing a Prinny”, that was what they were referring to.

Javeed’s brother, Jamshed Javeed, a chemistry teacher from Bolton, also planned to join Isis but was arrested in Britain before he could travel to Syria.

When Jama Farah was arrested on 11 March 2014, he told police he knew the friends through his cousin Halane.

A snapshot of life under Isis was revealed in photographs Raoufi sent to Jama Farah via WhatsApp and Twitter of scenes in and around al-Ittihad university near the Syrian city of Raqqah, which had been turned into a training camp with a stash of weaponry.

One of the images appeared to show a joke equation on the “square root of jihad” written on a universitywhiteboard with “well done” written on it.

Among the friends posing together was Ifthekar Jaman from Portsmouth, who was also killed in fighting.

Jurors were shown a YouTube clip by Raoufi of an interview with Hostey in a Syrian hospital after he was shot in the foot in January 2014.

Jama Farah denied wrongdoing. He was cast by his defence as an overexcited teenager sitting in his bedroom using his computer to keep in contact with his friends and passing on phone numbers, concerned for their welfare.

However, the jury convicted him of facilitating Hassan’s travel to Syria and for his communication with Raoufi.

Judge Michael Topolski told the defendant he would be sentenced at a later date. He said: “You must be in no doubt there can only be one sentence from this court – at the end of this process – that is a term of imprisonment. You have been convicted of serious terrorist-related crimes, be in no doubt that will be the sentence of the court.”

Afterwards, Det Ch Supt Tony Mole, head of the north west counter terrorism unit, said: “Jama was very much a key part of the communication between this group of friends who had gone abroad with the intention of committing acts of terrorism.



“Although he may not have been there committing these acts himself, his actions helped facilitate what they were doing and I hope his conviction will send a message to all those who are even considering offering a helping hand to terrorists.”