LONDON: Two British brothers who travelled to Syria with the intention of attending a militant training camp were jailed on Wednesday, becoming the first to be sentenced for such offences in Britain.

Mohommod Nawaz, 30, was handed a four-and-a-half year prison term and his younger brother Hamza Nawaz, 23, was given three years at London’s central criminal court.

The pair, both from east London, had pleaded guilty to conspiring to attend a place used for terrorist training -- a charge that does not explicitly state whether they attended or not.

Mohommod Nawaz, described in court as “the prime instigator”, was also convicted for possessing ammunition, including rounds for an AK-47 assault rifle.

London’s Scotland Yard said they were the first British citizens to be sentenced for terror offences after returning from Syria.

Judge Christopher Moss told them: “You were in training, both of you, while you were there to support the rebels fighting in Syria.

“In fairness to you both there is no evidence you actually engaged in such fighting. Police did however find evidence including images, video clips and text messages relating to the training camp.

An investigation by British counter terrorism police established that the brothers travelled to Syria between Aug 25 and Sept 16 last year to attend a camp in the Latakia province.

The brothers are believed to have “cultivated an extremist mindset over a period of months prior to their travel”, a police spokesman said.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2014