Islamic State death squad suspect jailed for terror offences

An extremist suspected of being a member of the Islamic State death squad dubbed "the Beatles" was jailed for eight years for terrorist offences.
Aine Davis, 39, admitted carrying a weapon and trying to get his wife to send him €20,000 via an unwitting courier. The charges date back to 2013 and 2014 after he travelled to Syria to join the militia group.
Intelligence services once believed that Davis was part of the "IS Beatles" - so-called because of their British accents - who tortured and killed hostages.
He was arrested at Luton Airport in 2022 after being deported from Turkey after serving a seven-and-a-half-year sentence for membership of IS.
He pleaded guilty to possessing a weapon for terrorist purposes and two charges of fundraising following an ultimately unsuccessful legal battle to get the charges dismissed, arguing at the Old Bailey and the Court of Appeal he had already spent time in prison in Turkey for similar offences.
Davis, whose barrister apologised on his behalf to the people of Syria, his family and the court, was jailed for a total of eight years - six years for the firearms offence and two years for terrorism funding, to run consecutively.
He was told he will have to serve his entire custodial sentence and will be on licence for a further two years upon his release.
Passing sentence at the Old Bailey in central London, the Recorder of London, Judge Mark Lucraft KC, said: "From the messages and images you sent to your wife it is clear you had been with fighters in Syria and that you were not there for lawful purposes."
He added: "It is submitted on your behalf that there is much that has been said about you in the media and elsewhere that is not supported by evidence before the court.
"I make it clear I am sentencing you for the offences on the indictment and for nothing else."
The judge's sentencing remarks can be read in full at: www.judiciary.uk/judgments/r-...
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