Kerala Court sentences man to 10 years in jail under UAPA for supporting ISIS, promoting terrorism

A Kerala court recently sentenced one Riyas A to ten years of rigorous imprisonment after he was found guilty of supporting the terrorist organisation Islamic State of Iraq and Syria/ Daesh (ISIS) [Union of India represented by NIA v. Riyas A].Special Judge Mini S Das also imposed a ₹50,000 fine on Riyas. He was found guilty of being part of a criminal conspiracy (Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code) and of offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).Judge Das observed that there was material to show that Riyas was involved in furthering the activities of ISIS in India and that he had entered into a criminal conspiracy to commit terrorist acts in India including ‘istishadi’ operations (suicide attack). She noted that Riyas had also made several posts and comments on the internet to instill fear and terror in the minds of “non-believers” while encouraging others to join the cause of ISIS.While so, the Court found that Riyas “failed to express any genuine remorse.” Therefore, the judge declined to show any leniency on the question of sentence and imposed the maximum penalty prescribed for the UAPA offences.“It is proved that the accused is highly radicalized through ISIS ideology and he had been spreading the ideology through social media platform for the last several years. The uploads, posts and comments made in social media supporting ISIS, a terrorist organization would have caused to increase the growth of radicalization in geometric progression due to the wide spread reach and influence of online platform. The seeds of extremist ideologies, when sown and nurtured in human mind it can grow into destructive forces that would threaten the peace, unity and integrity of the country. When the offence committed by the accused is against public order affecting morale of the society, significant terms of imprisonment to send a clear message of deterrence and to re-affirm the importance of upholding public order and societal morale is absolutely essential in the interest of justice,” the Court added..Riyas was arrested in April 2019 during the course of an investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into a larger case involving several others accused of joining ISIS.The matter was initially investigated by the Kerala police after a local resident complained in 2011 that a family (husband, wife and child) had gone missing. The investigation became wider over time as more missing person cases came to light eventually leading to the conclusion that several missing persons had left India to join ISIS.Considering the seriousness of the matter, the investigation was handed over to the NIA in 2016. During the course of this inquiry, two accused persons turned approvers. The testimony given by these two prosecution witnesses was also relied upon by the trial court to convict Riyas.During the investigation, Riyas had maintained that he was falsely implicated and asserted that he had not done anything to support ISIS.The Court, however, found that the material produced by the prosecution against Riyas indicated otherwise and convicted him..Advocates BA Aloor, Hijas TT, Shafin Ahammed, Vishnu Dileep, Krishnendu.TS and Archana Suresh represented Riyas before the trial court.Public Prosecutor Sreenath S represented the NIA..[Read Judgment]