Terror director Briton given life

A British man who became the first al-Qaeda suspect convicted in the UK of directing terrorism has been sentenced to life in jail.

Rangzieb Ahmed, 33, was found guilty of the offence on Thursday following a trial at Manchester Crown Court.

The judge described him as an "extremely dangerous man".

Ahmed was also found guilty of being a member of terror group al-Qaeda, along with Habib Ahmed, who was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

Habib, 29, was given nine years for being a member of the terror group and an additional year for possessing a document for terror-related purposes.

"You [Rangzieb] are an intelligent, capable and superficially reasonable man who is involved in terrorism"
Mr Justice Saunders

Briton guilty of directing terror

Briton 'linked to core al-Qaeda'

The taxi driver had been caught with two diaries containing details of top al-Qaeda operatives, described in court as a terrorist's contact book.

Among the names and phone numbers in the diaries, which contained some writing in invisible ink, was a former al-Qaeda top man Hamza Rabia, the court was told.

Both men, who are not related, are from Manchester.

Recruiter and organiser

The prosecution said Rochdale-born Rangzieb had been part of a three-man active service cell on an unknown foreign mission.

Handing him a life sentence, Mr Justice Saunders said: "The prosecution case accepted by the jury was you were not one of the leaders but a recruiter and organiser of smaller terrorist cells throughout the world to work for al-Qaeda.

"I am satisfied you are dedicated to the cause of Islamic terrorism. You are an intelligent, capable and superficially reasonable man who is involved in terrorism.

"That makes you an extremely dangerous man."

He said he must serve a minimum of 10 years but would not be released until he was considered not to be a threat to the public.

Terror assistant

Rangzieb had travelled to Dubai from Pakistan via China en route to South Africa in December 2005 as part of a "major activity," the court heard.

It was said this was abandoned when his boss, Hamza Rabia, was killed in an explosion the same month.

"Without them [the diaries] Rangzieb Ahmed would not have been able to carry on organising terrorism"
Mr Justice Saunders

Mr Justice Saunders told Habib he had "assisted" Rangzieb, whom he knew to be an "active terrorist working for al-Qaeda".

"You joined up with him," he said. "You assisted him by travelling to Dubai when he was on a terrorist mission and you brought the notebooks into this country.

"Those notebooks were extremely important. They may not have contained the details of how to make bombs but they were in my view just as important to al-Qaeda."

"Without them Rangzieb Ahmed would not have been able to carry on organising terrorism."

A member of the public gallery shouted, "Jannah (paradise) is yours" as Habib was led to the cells, while another said, "He is innocent".

The two men were trapped by a complex police and security force operation, and Rangzieb was eventually arrested in Pakistan in August 2006.