A man who travelled to Syria to join a terror group has been convicted of a terrorism offence.
Isa Giga, 32, previously of Hounslow, had travelled to Syria to fight for the Jaysh Al Fath group.
The group is part of an alliance of Islamist militias fighting in the Syrian civil war and includes an Al Qaeda-affiliated group.
Giga flew from Heathrow to Syria via Turkey on September 7, 2015, with emails and social media messages collected by the Met showing he had travelled to Syria to “fight for Jihad”.
He was arrested at Heathrow Airport on May 23, 2024 and was convicted today of an offence contrary to section 5 of the Terrorism Act, 2006, following a two-week trial at the Old Bailey.
Other messages sent to an undercover officer in 2016 were also shown in court. In the messages, Giga explained that he “never knew about Jihad until 2015” when ISIS took control of parts of Syria.
Giga said he supported “Nusra”, part of the Jaysh Al Fath group, and “wanted martyrdom very soon in the first row” (the battlefield in Syria).
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command said: "We have been clear for some time now that anyone returning to the UK suspected of being involved in any terrorist-related activity overseas will be thoroughly investigated.
“We work very closely with other partners and agencies here in the UK and overseas in order to do this and help keep the public safe.
“As this case shows, we will always arrest those who return to the UK after fighting for a terrorist group, no matter how long it has been since they left the country. "
Giga will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on October 17.
