Woman cleared of funding jihadists in Syria

A young woman who tried to smuggle cash in her knickers on a flight to Turkey beamed as she walked free from court after she was dramatically cleared of funding jihadists in Syria.

But her friend who allegedly asked her to be a “trusted courier” for the money collapsed in tears in the dock as she heard she was found guilty of the offence in the first prosecution of its kind.

The Old Bailey heard Nawal Msaad, 27, attempted to take the stash of €20,000 in rolled-up notes on a flight to Istanbul from Heathrow in January.

She did it for her friend Amal El-Wahabi, also 27, whose husband Aine Davis, 30, asked for the money, having left the UK to pursue a jihadist cause in Syria in July last year.

The plan was scuppered when Msaad was stopped at the departure gate and she produced the cash, which had been hidden inside a condom but had fallen out into her pants.

Msaad, of Holloway, north London, and El-Wahabi, of north west London, denied the charge of making money available with “reasonable cause to suspect that it would or may be used for the purposes of terrorism”.

The jury of six women and five men cleared Msaad but convicted El-Wahabi by a majority of 10-1.

El-Wahabi is the first Briton to be convicted under terror laws of funding jihadi fighters in Syria.

Her own barrister had argued she is a “foul-mouthed” and a “phone-addicted, weed smoking kaffir” but an unlikely terrorist.

She sobbed uncontrollably in the dock as the jury returned its guilty verdict, saying: “I can’t breathe, no, I can’t breathe.”

Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC warned El-Wahabi that she faced jail when she is sentenced on September 12.

He told her she was in a “completely different category” from her partner Davis, but added: “I do not want there to be any misunderstanding.

“On the face of it, an immediate custodial sentence appears inevitable in this case.”

Meanwhile, Msaad, who was dressed in black and white striped shorts and a black top, hugged friends outside court.

In a brief statement to waiting reporters, she said: “I’m relieved to be found not guilty.

“I will be forever thankful to my family,” she said.

“I’m physically drained and mentally weak.”

Asked if she would be returning to university now, Msaad appeared tearful as she replied: “I don’t know.”