Single mum jailed for supporting terrorism
A single mother who uploaded photographs and stories of her son's struggle in Syria was sentenced to 60 months’ jail by the Kuala Lumpur High Court today.
Azizah Mohd Yusof, 55, who pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to support terrorist acts through a social networking site, was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment on each charge.
However, Judge Kamardin Hashim ordered the sentences to run concurrently from the date of her arrest on April 28 last year.
In his judgment, Kamardin said the court took into account various factors, including the effect of the offence on society.
He said the court also considered the mitigation submitted by the accused's counsel KC Suzalena Salleh, who had urged the court to take into account the problems faced by the accused - a single mother raising five children - and her health condition.
"The court takes terrorism offences seriously, especially using social networking sites as a means to disseminate the ' fisabillillah ' (martyrdom) struggle or ideology.
"When social networking sites are used for this purpose, it will promote IS activities in Malaysia and encourage teenagers to support the cause," said Kamardin.
On May 23 last year, Azizah was charged with attempting to provide support for terrorist acts through her Facebook accounts under the name of 'Wan Jah' and 'Azizah Yusof'
She was alleged to have committed both offences at the E8 Division, Special Branch, 24th Floor, Tower 2, Federal Police Headquarters (Bukit Aman) in Kuala Lumpur at about 2pm on April 24, 2014.
However, no plea was recorded but on June 4 last year, Azizah pleaded not guilty to the charges in the KL High Court.
She was charged under Section 130J(1)(b) of the Penal Code, read together Section 511 of the same Code, which carries a maximum 30-year jail term.
According to the facts of the case, investigations showed that one of the Facebook accounts was opened by her daughter in December 2013. The accused made use of that account to share information on her son's involvement in the terrorist group (IS).
The accused uploaded the status of her son, Fadzly Ariff Zainal Ariff who was in Syria allegedly on 'jihad' (holy war) since Oct 11, 2013, to participate in Islamic State Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group. Fadzly was killed after six months in Syria.
The accused was also found to be in communication with her son about her son's situation and activities in Syria. In addition, the accused also communicated with several other individuals associated with terrorism.
Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Norinna Bahadun and Jasmee Hameeza Jaafar had urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence to send home the message on the drawbacks of terrorism to the accused and the public.
- Bernama
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