A Primark security guard has been jailed for posting propaganda videos for Islamic State, appearing masked in one of the clips armed with a large knife. Luqmaan Ahmed, 24, from Rusholme, published the offending clips in 2022 while awaiting sentencing for posting similar material encouraging people to fight in Syria for a proscribed terror group affiliated to Al Qaeda when he was a teen - a case that ended with a community order.
Now Ahmed has been jailed after a judge said he found it 'difficult to see' his claim that his intention was to attract an audience of IS sympathisers and then to talk to them and turn them away from terrorism. He had denied three charges of encouraging terrorism but he was found guilty following a trial in July.
Videos posted while on bail
Ahmed, who has a previous conviction for encouraging terrorism, was awaiting sentence for that crime when he published an IS propaganda video on his Instagram account on September 16, 2022. He escaped prison four months later. The clip featured IS fighters in combat fatigues carrying guns with captured prisoners and an IS flag waving in the background. It was 'liked' 17 times. The propaganda video remained online until it was finally removed by Instagram two months later.
Ahmed also published two Instagram 'stories', which only remain online for 24 hours, showing executions and suggesting support for the proscribed terror group. The first dated November 2022 showed IS fighters, scenes of execution and violence as well as an IS flag. It was said to have generated 179 'follows'.
Second account opened after closure
After his Instagram account was closed, Ahmed opened another and he posted another 'story' on July 15, 2023 which featured a series of still images and text. He appeared in one image in woodland wearing a balaclava holding a large knife with what appeared to be an IS flag in the background, prosecutor Alex Du Sautoy told Manchester Crown Court on Monday (September 28, 2026). It also featured a woman and a child and another man with a gun who was said to be encouraging watchers to fight non-Muslims, the court heard. The second story also featured execution scenes and generated 165 'follows'.
The clips Ahmed posted were 'encouraging violent actions that would endanger life' while the defendant was 'potentially targeting' an IS audience, said Mr Du Sautoy. The video he posted and the first 'story' were published while he was on bail awaiting sentence for another offence of encouraging terrorism while his second 'story' was published while he was serving a community order for the crime, the prosecutor told the court.
Defence claims of turning people away
During his trial, the jurors were told that on other occasions Ahmed posted material online which was against IS. Andrew Morris, defending, said his client believed his faith gave him an 'obligation' to turn people away from 'radical Islamism'. He insisted his client had no 'terrorist mindset' and did not want others to joined proscribed terror groups.
Mr Morris said the defendant had shown a 'high level of naivety' in committing his third offence while he was already serving a community order for encouraging terrorism. There was 'no evidence' that anyone had watched his two Instagram stories, he said. The barrister urged the judge to adopt a recommendation by a probation officer to hand out another community order, adding that Ahmed was a carer for his mother who suffers from arthritis while he also had 'parental responsibility' or his younger sister.
Judge hands extended sentence
Judge Alan Conrad KC said the three 'horrific' clips were 'directed to an audience online whom you believed to by sympathetic to Islamic State' of more than 100 followers on Instagram. The jury found that the defendant was 'reckless as to whether members of the public would be encouraged to commit acts of terrorism', said Judge Conrad who went on that he found it 'difficult to see' the defendant's case that he was trying to turn people away from extremism.
Judge Conrad continued that the defendant 'knew what he was doing was wrong' but he found that there was 'no evidence of terrorist mindset on your part'. Noting the defendant's previous conviction for encouraging terrorism, Judge Conrad said: "I find these offences are so serious that only immediate custody can be justified."
Ahmed, of Heald Place in Rusholme, showed no reaction as he was handed an extended jail sentence totalling four-and-a-half years for three offences of encouraging terrorism. It features a determinate sentence of three-and-a-half years which allows him to apply for parole two-thirds of the way through. The judge added an extended licence period of another year, bringing the total to four-and-a-half years.
In December 2022, Ahmed was handed a community order and 150 hours of unpaid work for posting similar material in 2018 when he was 16. He and another youth had posted propaganda videos made by 'armed militia' opposing the Assad regime in Syria on Instagram. He was said to have become obsessed with the war in Syria following the Manchester Arena attack in 2017. He had allegedly been encouraging others to join and fight for Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham, a proscribed organisation affiliated to Al Qaida, and for disseminating numerous pro-jihadist training videos via his Instagram and WhatsApp accounts.
The judge at the time, Judge Patrick Field KC, said it was 'vanishingly unlikely' that the pair would have ever travelled to Syria, and that a homemade propaganda video they produced was 'pitiful'. "If these offences were not so serious, I would say laughable," he added. "It probably can never be said that there is no risk here, but I am satisfied that there is not a significant risk of serious harm in either of your cases." Prosecutors will apply for a Serious Crime Prevention Order at a later date.
After Ahmed was jailed, Det Chief Supt Jonathan Chadwick, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing Northwest, said: "People posting this type of material can bring fear and distrust among our communities. Today’s sentencing reaffirms Counter Terrorism Policing’s commitment to making sure that those who pose a risk to our society will be pursued and prosecuted. Our dedicated officers and staff, through extensive investigation have once again ensured that Luqmaan Ahmed has been brought to justice and is now facing over three years in prison."
