Hamas supporter behind bars because of CST research

CST research has resulted in a UK-based Hamas supporter being sentenced to one year in prison.

On 19 December 2024, Mohammed Nafees Ahmed pled guilty to eight offences of supporting a proscribed terrorist organisation, namely Hamas.

It was CST’s Open-Source Intelligence team who identified Ahmed’s extremist online postings and reported him to counter-terrorism police in December 2023. Ahmed is believed to be the first person in the UK to be imprisoned for supporting Hamas since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks on 7 October 2023, with several others having faced non-custodial sentences and others awaiting trial.

CST became aware of Ahmed due to his extremist activity on X (formerly Twitter) where he posted a series of violent threats, including content that indicated a desire to engage in violent acts himself. CST’s online research work is primarily focused on identifying individuals who may pose a violent threat to the British Jewish community, and Ahmed fell squarely into that category.

Ahmed repeatedly suggested that he was willing or preparing to carry out an act of extremist violence in the UK. This included language such as:

“F*k u and zionist Jews. If I see you on the streets of London you best know [knife emoji]”

“I’d take his head off first thing try that in the UK”

Similar violent threats were also made to high-profile figures, including the current Prime Minister and then leader of the opposition, Keir Starmer. In response to a Chanukah post on X by Keir Starmer in December 2023, Ahmed posted – “You Zionist. Your time will come [knife emoji]”. Ahmed also threated violence against broadcaster, Piers Morgan.

These threats were made in the shadow of the October 7^th atrocities, some coming just days after. They were also made in the context of Ahmed’s wider Islamist extremism, which was clear from his online social media posts. For example, Ahmed repeatedly stated his desire to engage in Islamist extremism-motivated violence. This included having posted the following:

“We are ready to back our iran muslim brethren inshallah. We are ready to take up arms from within uk. Time for jihad”

“it’s time brother Muslims unite were ever in the world you are, it’s time for jihad”

The final component of evidence shared with counter-terrorism police was Ahmed’s support for Hamas, including on the day they perpetrated their attacks on the 7^th of October. Hamas are a UK proscribed terrorist organisation, meaning expressions of support for them are illegal terrorist offences. Ahmed clearly indicated repeated support for the terrorist organisation. On the 7^th of October he posted “long live hamas” and on the 16^th of October he posted:

“Long live hamas, resistance fighters against the occupation of Palestine from the Zionists, Palestine is ours and will remain ours. We will eradicate every Zionist and incompetent idf from our blessed lands. INSHALLAH. TAKBEER ALLAH HU AKBAR”

All of this evidence was shared with counter-terrorism police, and on 20 March 2024 Ahmed was arrested. On 16 September 2024 he was charged with eight counts of supporting a proscribed terrorist organisation to which he pled guilty. Ahmed was finally sentenced on the 19 December 2024 to one year in prison, and a further year on an extended licence.

When discussing Ahmed’s use of knife emojis in the context of making threats online, Prosecutor Peter Ratcliff said that “it is open to conclude the defendant [Mohammed Ahmed] has terrorist motivations”. Furthermore, Judge Nigel Lickley KC stated in court “I am satisfied you had terrorist motivations. I am satisfied you knew Hamas was a proscribed organisation despite you saying you were not aware”. He also stated that Ahmed’s offending was so serious that only an immediate jail sentence would do.

This case demonstrates the way in which social media, especially platforms with poor content moderation, can facilitate dangerous anti-Jewish violent incitement. Whilst Ahmed’s posts indicated his own desire to engage in jihadist-motivated violence, the explicitly violent content he was posting also risked inspiring others to terrorist violence.