East London man who said he was 'online librarian' jailed for spreading ISIS propganda

A man who told counter terror police he was an “online librarian” has been jailed for string of terror offences.

Hamza Alam, 22, from Romford, east London, spread propaganda across the web glorifying the violence of ISIS, Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday.

He shared acts of terrorism on social media but was brought to justice by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command.

Alam was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment at Woolwich Crown Court on Monday for three counts of disseminating terrorist publications and one count of encouraging terrorism.

He had claimed he was an “online librarian” when interviewed by police after he was arrested in June 2022.

Counter terrorism detectives had been investigating an online messaging channel.

But counter terror officers seized his electronic devices which proved that Alam, who went by the codename ‘H’, was an administrator on a Telegram channel, and had shared terrorist publications that encouraged Jihad.

Specialist officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command also identified further content on Alam’s social media channels that glorified ISIS fighters and the preparation and commission of terrorist acts.

Detective Chief Superintendent Gareth Rees, Head of Operations for the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “Alam insisted that he was simply an ‘online librarian’, providing a service to the public by sharing this material.

“That was not the case - by sharing violent and extreme terrorist publications, he is now a terrorist offender and has been sentenced accordingly.

“He was found to have shared content deliberately and recklessly, with the aim of encouraging others to carry out violent acts of terror.

“We know that the type of content Alam was sharing can have a tangible and dangerous impact, particularly when it comes to the radicalisation of young people in our communities.

“In this case, officers worked hard to build a clear picture of Alam’s activity and it demonstrates that we will always work incredibly hard to bring individuals like him to justice.”

Other posts celebrated the 9/11 bombers and promoted extreme violence.

Alam was first arrested in June 2022 and charged with three counts of dissemination of a terrorist publication in March 2023.