- Muslim convert Lorna Moore is married to Sajid Aslam, who is allegedly part of a group of friends who fled their West Midlands homes to join ISIS[1]
- She had planned to take their three children to Syria,[2] the Old Bailey heard
- Moore, 33, denies failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism
- She is on trial alongside Ayman Shaukat, who denies terror charges
- For more of the latest Islamic State news visit www.dailymail.co.uk/isis[3]
A woman had planned to take her three young children to Syria[5] so that they could be reunited with their jihadi fighter father, a court has heard.
Trainee maths teacher Lorna Moore, 33, was born into a Protestant family in Belfast but converted to Islam before marrying husband Sajid Aslam in 2003.
The Old Bailey heard that Aslam, 34, was one of a group of friends who fled their homes in Walsall, in the West Midlands, to join the Islamic State in Syria between July and December 2014.
Trainee maths teacher Lorna Moore, 33, left, was born into a Protestant family in Belfast but converted to Islam before marrying husband Sajid Aslam, right, in 2003. The father-of-three allegedly fled to Syria in August 2014
Jurors were told Moore had also booked a flight to Majorca, but had planned to continue on to Syria. She had applied for passports for her family and sold her car and TV in preparation, it was said.
Prosecutor Julian Christopher QC told jurors: 'The plan was for Miss Moore to take the children via an innocuous destination to be reunited with their father.'
She is on trial alongside Ayman Shaukat, 27, who is accused of helping his friend Aslam and anoth er member of the group make the journey to Syria.
The first of the group to leave was Muslim convert Jacob Petty, 25, also known as Abu Yaqood Britany, who fled Britain in July 2014. He was killed before the year was out.
Petty was soon joined by his old school friend Isaiah Siadatan, who left behind his wife Kerry Thomason and their two children.
Lorna Mooore arrives at the Old Bailey, in London
The jury heard that it was Shaukat who took Aslam to the airport for his flight out of the UK on August 23 2014.
He also allegedly drove two more of the group, Alex Nash, 22, and his wife Yousma Jan, to the airport as they set off for Syria on November 4.
Shaukat, who was treasurer of Islam Walsall and worked as a customer services agen t, sent a friend a photo of himself posing with an ISIS flag in his bedroom on the day Aslam left the UK.
A week later Aslam sent Shaukat a 'triumphant' coded message that indicated he had reached Syria, it is claimed.
He sent his friend a link to a YouTube video of a song called I Made It by pop band Cash Money Heroes, to which Shaukat replied 'good stuff'.
In October Aslam told his friend that it can be 'tough at times in my new job but it's all in a good cause'.
Aslam also kept in contact with his wife over Skype, it was heard.
Within months of his departure, Moore had booked flights to Palma, Majorca, set about renting out her house, applied for passports and visited family in her native Belfast, the court heard.
Her final destination was given away when Nash and Jan were arrested by Turkish police at Gaziantep while en route to Syria, it is claimed.
Mr Christopher said the couple wore western clothing on the trip 'no doubt to deflect questioning about where they were going and why'.
British police swooped on Moore's West Midlands home and discovered a text from Nash and Jan that read: 'See you there. May the peace of Allah be upon you xxx'.
The couple also sent a picture of their last sunrise over their Walsall home.
The prosecutor said that Moore was aware of the true significance of the couple's departure and when she booked flights to Palma for November 15, she was really intending to be joining them at their destination.
Meanwhile, Siadat an set up a cover story to try and avoid suspicion, telling people that he was at university. In one message he encouraged Shaukat to join him in 'Bradford' for the 'party life'.
Mr Christopher told the jury: 'The prosecution suggest that a clear overall picture emerges from the evidence - this was a group of friends all intent on going out to Syria to fight for ISIS, and providing each other with help and support, in which Shaukat played an instrumental role - and indeed, it would appear that he would say that the only reason that he did not go out as well was his lack of passport.'
Ayman Shaukat, 27, left, is accused of helping his friend Aslam and another member of the group make the journey to Syria. Right, Muslim convert Jacob Petty, 25, who fled Britain in July 2014 and died in Syria
Moore denies failing to disc lose information about acts of terrorism on or before August 24 2014 that might be of assistance in securing the apprehension of Aslam.
Shaukat denies two counts of preparing for terrorist acts in relation to helping Aslam and Nash as well as possession of information contrary to the Terrorism Act 2000 in relation to a copy of '39 Ways To Serve And Participate In Jihad' on a laptop external hard drive.
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References
- ^ ISIS (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Syria, (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ www.dailymail.co.uk/isis (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Stephanie Linning for MailOnline (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Syria (www.dailymail.co.uk)
