Judge Peter Rook has sentenced 20-year-old David Souaan to three and a half years’ imprisonment for preparing terrorist acts, after being found guilty of planning to join rebel forces in Syria.
The defendant, a Serbian student at Birkbeck College, was stopped at Heathrow Airport on 21 May 2014. Souaan had visited Syria in December 2013 and his fellow students had voiced their concern over his extremist views on Islam. The prosecution case was that Mr Souaan intended to travel to Syria to fight against President Assad in the Syrian civil war. The defence case, in which Ali Bajwa QC was leading counsel, was that the defendant was immature and naïve and that he had been living an isolated life whilst studying abroad in London away from his family.
The case has been reported widely in the media, including by The Telegraph, the Guardian, The Independent, and the BBC.
Ali and Anya were instructed by Mark French of Edward Hayes LLP.
Ali Naseem Bajwa QC and Anya Lewis are both members of the Garden Court Chambers Crime Team.