Mary Kaya, 57, from Batley in Leeds was convicted of encouraging terrorism by retweeting a speech by the leader of Islamic State but has been spared jail. Judge Peter Collier said she did not present any danger

A woman who was convicted of encouraging terrorism by retweeting a speech by the leader of Islamic State has been spared jail.

Mother of three Mary Kaya, 57, from Batley in Leeds was caught after police arrested her husband in a counter-terrorism raid and began monitoring her Twitter account.

Kaya was handed a 21-month suspended prison sentence at Leeds crown court after being found guilty of distributing a publication likely to encourage people to participate in terrorism.

The jury heard Kaya retweeted an audio clip of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State caliphate in Syria and Iraq.

The clip was entitled 'Even if the Disbelievers Despise Such', to 30 followers on November 13, 2014.

Kaya denied posting the link telling police someone had hacked her account.

Passing sentence, Judge Peter Collier QC, called the speech a 'dreadful diatribe' but conceded that apart from her Twitter feed there was so evidence to indicate Kaya had any radical Islamic views.

She had attended the Prevent counter-terrorism programme since April 2016 which she said she 'thoroughly enjoyed'.

Judge Collier said it was likely Kaya had already been rehabilitated and therefore provided no threat to others.

He said she couldn't be classed as a dangerous offender.

'There's no evidence put before me apart from the content on Twitter account that indicates on your part any espousal or propagating of radical Islamist views,' he said.

Adding: 'It does not seem to me that you present any danger to the public at all.'

Judge Peter Collier QC, called the speech a 'dreadful diatribe' but conceded that apart from her Twitter feed there was so evidence to indicate Kaya had any radical Islamic views

The judge added that he was taking the case of its own merits and similar subseuqent cases would risk harsher punishments.

Kaya will undergo a two-year supervision order and observe a 7am - 7pm curfew for four months while husband Mustafa Kaya was released with no further action following the police raid.

Twitter came under fierce criticism previously for seeming to give a platform to terrorists.

Accounts linked to ISIS troops sharing propaganda was widely spread across the site.

The company has since developed software to automatically identify and remove problem accounts - 376,890 last year.