Sheffield man who plotted terror attack using car bomb is jailed for 15 years

Farhad Salah, 24, was described by counter-terrorism police as posing a "very real risk to the safety of the public in the UK", with prosecutors saying he had hoped to harm "others he considered to be infidels".

During a five-week re-trial at Sheffield Crown Court, jurors heard how Salah, described as being a supporter of Islamic State, had been in the early stages of testing small improvised explosive devices in preparation for an attack when he was arrested by counter terror police.

Describing the extent of Salah's plotting to jurors, prosecutor Anne Whyte QC said during the trial: "The intention was to manufacture a device which would be placed in a vehicle but controlled remotely so that no-one had to martyr themselves in the process.

"Farhad Salah had decided that improvised explosive devices could be made and used in a way here in the UK that spared his own life preferably but harmed others he considered to be infidels."

She said that a week before being detained, the defendant had messaged a Facebook contact to say: "My only attempt is to find a way to carry out martyrdom operation with cars without driver, everything is perfect only the programme is left ..."

Ms Whyte said that Salah was getting "increasingly desperate" to do something for Islamic State at the time of his plotting but had been unable to travel to the Middle East due to his unsettled immigration status, with his application for asylum in the UK still being determined at the time of his arrest in December 2017.

Earlier this month, jurors found Salah, of Brunswick Road, Sheffield, guilty of preparing to commit acts of terrorism.

Judge Paul Watson QC today sentenced Salah to 15 years in prison with an extended three-year period on licence.

The Judge said the 24-year-old had "become wedded to an extremist ideology and was preparing to take action to give effect to those views".

He said Salah's viewing of "utterly depraved and sickening" extremist footage showed how committed he was to committing an act of terror.

He said: "Your attitude to extreme violence and loss of life, sometimes in unimaginably horrifying circumstances, indicates clearly to me that you, had you carried your preparations through to conclusion, would have had no hesitation in causing loss of life or the infliction of terrible suffering."

The Judge also said Salah posed a "significant risk" to the public.

"I have no idea when, if ever, your opposition to liberal democratic society will subside," Judge Watson QC said.

"While ever it does persist, you remain a danger.

"You are an abhorrence to "all peaceful and tolerant Muslims.

"What you were doing, purportedly in the name of a strict and reactionary construction of the Islamic faith was, in truth, a gross betrayal of that great faith."

Bearded Salah sat in the dock, wearing a navy blue polo shirt, with three dock officers and an interpreter.

He showed no emotion as he was sentenced.