Brighton man convicted of terrorism offence

Release courtesy of Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE)

A Brighton man who tried to encourage members of his community to commit jihad has been convicted of a terrorism offence. 

AbuBaker Deghayes of Arundel Drive East, Saltdean, Brighton was arrested under Section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006 in July 2021 by officers from Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE) and Sussex Police. He was subsequently charged with encouraging terrorism.

This charge was in relation to an incident which happened on 1 November 2020, where the 53-year-old made an uninvited speech at Dyke Road Mosque in Brighton in which he encouraged people to commit violent Jihad. He stated that Jihad was an obligation and encouraged Jihad by sword. He also went on to specifically exclude non-violent jihad and to criticise Prevent, which is a strand of the Governments Counter-Terrorism strategy that aims to prevent violent extremism through mentoring and counselling.

Today (January 19th) he was found guilty of encouraging terrorism by a jury at the Central Criminal Court.

He is due to be sentenced on Friday, February 25th, at the same court.

Detective Chief Superintendent Kath Barnes, QPM, Head of CTPSE, said: “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank those within the community who support and assist officers during investigations of this nature. It is vitally important that communities come forward with this information if they think someone has been or is trying to radicalise others.

“By reporting to us, we can take action and investigate.”

Sussex Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Tanya Jones, said: “This investigation demonstrates that we, along with our partners in CTPSE, will stop all forms of toxic ideology which have the potential to divide our communities and threaten the safety of the public.   

“We understand incidents such as this occurring locally can be concerning, but please be assured that a full investigation has taken place and there is no wider risk to the public. 

“Our officers will be carrying out further engagement work in the community and ask anybody with any concerns to let them know in person or to report them to us via the Sussex Police website, by calling 101 or 999 in an emergency.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who supported this investigation and helped to achieve this conviction.” 

There is lots of help and support available if the behaviour of someone you are close to has changed and you are worried they may have become radicalised in their views. 

Every year thousands of reports from the public help police tackle the terrorist threat – and we need this to continue. We would always encourage people to report anything suspicious.

If you see or hear something that doesn’t seem right, please trust your instincts and ACT early.

Reporting won’t ruin lives, but it could save them. Action Counters Terrorism.  
 
Gov.uk/report-terrorism