Two men have been sentenced for a combined total of nine years for publishing terrorism-related material on an extremist website.

The two main administrators and contributors for an Islamist propaganda website of Daesh supports have been jailed yesterday (February 12) at the Old Bailey.

Mohammed Abdul Ahad, 38, from north London and Muhammad Abdur Raheem Kamali, 31, from Manchester were caught by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command (CTC), Counter Terrorism Police North-East (CTPNE) and North-West (CTPNW).

Ahad and Kamali recorded and transcribed extremist speeches such as ones from extremist groups Al-Quaeda and Daesh, and then edited and published them to the website.

The pair came to police attention in 2016, when CTPNE investigated a 20-year-old woman who shared terrorism-related documents on the websites and on a linked Facebook page and was jailed in 2017.

During the investigation, CTPNE found Ahad and Kamali to be administrators who edited and published many of these and other documents on the website.

The Met’s CTC and CTPNW led investigations into the two men and they were both arrested on March 1, 2017, on suspicion of terrorism offences.

A search of their homes found many digital devices which confirmed the two to be administrators.

On June 21, 2018, Ahad was arrested again for holding a terrorist propaganda machine which instructed on how to assemble an AK47 automatic rifle. He gave no comment in the interview.

He was later charged on July 10, 2018, with four counts of dissemination of terrorist publication and one count of holding a document likely to be used by a terrorist.

Kamali was later charged on August 9, 2018, with seven counts of dissemination of terrorist publication.

Commander Richard Smith, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “I am very pleased with today’s sentences. Two publishers of harmful extremist material have been jailed for a considerable time.

“The Met works with other police forces and security services to provide a counter terrorism network, both at home and abroad, whose strength and effect is continually felt by those who conspire to commit acts of violence and terror.

“Today’s result was a direct consequence of that network. We quickly identified the two offenders in different parts of the UK as online publishers of toxic ideologies which promoted terrorism and encouraged its readership to join Daesh in Syria.

“We take the dissemination of this type of material incredibly seriously and we will prosecute anyone involved in such illegal activity.

“Police rely on information from the public and I would remind everyone to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious to police, whether that be online or in the real world.”

Detective Superintendent Will Chatterton, head of investigations at Counter Terrorism Police North West, added: “Today’s result is a culmination of hard work and dedication by different Counter Terrorism Policing teams from across the National Counter Terrorism Network. I hope this reassures the public that we are unified in our approach to tackling this form of hatred and remain absolutely committed to putting a stop to the incitement of violence and terror in all of its abhorrent forms.

“I also hope this sentence sends a clear message to those thinking about engaging in online support for terrorist organisations.

“Across the Counter Terrorism Network, we will continue to work to identify and prosecute those individuals who are actively engaged in the online support of terrorist organisations.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to remind members of the public that they are often one of our biggest advantages in combatting the threat of terror.

“So, if something doesn’t seem quite right, please get in touch with us - communities defeat terrorism.”

• Mohammed Abdul Ahad, 38, from north London was sentenced to four-and-a-half years imprisonment for charges of disseminating terrorist publications and three years for possession of documents likely to be of use to a terrorist. Once released, he has a further year on licence and will be subject to a 10-year order to notify police of changes in his circumstances.

• Muhammad Abdur Raheem Kamali, 31, from Manchester was sentenced to four-and-a-half years’ imprisonment for disseminating terrorist publication, he musty then serve a further 12 months on licence and is subject to a 10-year order to notify police of particular changes in circumstances.