Former Tube worker jailed for terror offences back on London's streets after 11 months

 
Security threat: Ali formerly worked for London Underground (Picture: Getty)
Getty
Rachel Blundy2 August 2015

A former London Tube worker who was jailed for terror offences is back on the streets of London after serving just 11 months of a 31-month sentence, it has been revealed.

Afsor Ali, 28, was convicted of possessing terrorist material after a trial at the Old Bailey last year.

During his sentencing, the ex-London Underground security worker was told by a judge: "It is absolutely plain that you are an extremist and you do support terrorism".

But now it has emerged that the Ali, who has links to hate preacher Anjem Choudary, was recently granted parole despite once being deemed a serious security threat.

An investigation by the Daily Star on Sunday found he had been given permission to live in a west London bail hostel for the rest of his sentence.

The newspaper obtained photographs of him waiting for a District Line train surrounded by oblivious commuters.

Just ahead of his trial in August 2014, Ali attempted to flee to France by Eurostar after obtaining a stolen passport, but police caught up with him and he was re-arrested.

It was later revealed in court that he had been sharing extremist messages on YouTube under the alias Asad Ullah.

In the videos, he warned of a terrorist attack during Prince William and Kate’s wedding and called for a Burn American Flag Day.

Jurors heard how he described the 9/11 terrorist attacks as "a historic event".

He was also found in possession of a transcript of a speech by Omar Bakri, dubbed the Tottenham Ayatollah, which appeared to justify suicide bombings.

Police also discovered a copy of al-Qaeda magazine Inspire and terrorist manual “39 Ways to Serve and Participate in Jihad” on his computers and MP3 player after raids at addresses in east London.

Ali’s activities were investigated after he was arrested outside the US embassy on December 2, 2011, while leading a violent protest against drone strikes in Pakistan.

He denied three counts of possessing terrorist material but was convicted at the Old Bailey.

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