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Episode details

Radio 4,17 Jul 2014,28 mins

Internet Jihadi: Babar Ahmad

The Report

Available for over a year

How does a middle class boy from Tooting end up, in middle age, pleading guilty to terrorism offences in a US court? British Muslim Babar Ahmad has been convicted in a court in Connecticut of providing support to terrorists. In the late 1990s, Ahmad founded the first English language jihadi website. Two years after 9/11, he was arrested and then spent nearly a decade fighting extradition to the United States. The US authorities claimed that Ahmad's actions helped garner support for al-Qaeda. Ahmad maintains that he has only ever tried to assist Muslims suffering at the hands of oppressive regimes. BBC Home Affairs Correspondent Dominic Casciani traces Ahmad's journey from a privileged upbringing in South London to a US prison. The programme contains insights from those who witnessed Ahmad's radicalisation and an interview with Ahmad himself, recorded in prison. Reporter: Dominic Casciani Producer: Keith Moore.

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