Student set out to join Syria rebels

A radical Muslim student who wanted the black flag of the Islamic State (IS) to fly over Downing Street has been jailed for three-and-a-half years after being found guilty of planning to join rebel forces in Syria.

David Souaan, 20, was convicted in December of preparing for terrorist acts in the war-torn country following a trial at the Old Bailey.

The prosecution said he had visited Syria in December 2013 and was on his way back to fight when he was arrested at Heathrow Airport on May 31 last year.

The student, who comes from a wealthy family in Serbia, denied the charge and insisted his earlier visit to Syria was to collect his grandfather’s belongings.

But the jury took nine hours to find him guilty of the terror charge.

Sentencing him to be detained in a young offenders institution, Judge Peter Rook told Souaan his case was at the lower end of the scale but nevertheless serious. He told the student that due to his age and immaturity he had been “vulnerable to extremist views” to which he was exposed after he left home for London.

He said his praise for IS came at a time before the organisation’s true character was known.