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Bitter ex-husband framed his brother-in-law as an Isil bomber and paedophile in 'vicious online campaign', court hears

Shohidul Islam is accused of framing his brother-in-law  - Central News
Shohidul Islam is accused of framing his brother-in-law - Central News

A bitter ex-husband framed his brother-in-law as an Isil bomber and paedophile in a "vicious online campaign", a court heard.

Shohidul Islam, 26, used fake Facebook and Twitter accounts to pose as brother-in-law Mohammed Razaul Karim to make it appear he was an Islamic extremist, it was said.

He also allegedly posted indecent images of children and used the fake social media accounts to send them to Mr Karim's family in abid to frame him as a paedophile.

Islam's trial at the Old Bailey heard the digital abuse began following the breakdown of his marriage to Mr Karim's sister, Fahimida Shuba, who lived in Bangladesh.

The jury heard he was arrested at his local Job Centre while waiting for his appointment and during a search of his phone police found a copy of The Anarchist Cookbook, which is banned under terrorism legislation.

He is charged with two counts of encouraging terrorism, one count of possessing an article of use for terrorist purposes, one count of making indecent images of children and one count of making a bomb hoax.

Prosecutor Mark Weekes said: "Between late 2015 and early 2016 this defendant embarked say the prosecution on what was a vicious digital and online campaign against Mohammed Razaul Karim, who by then was his brother-in-law.

"That campaign had a number of different strands to it and from time to time they overlapped.

"First the defendant aimed to portray Mr Karim as a radicalised Islamic extremist."

As part of that campaign he created a social medial profile on Twitter, under the name @Razaul001 and Facebook page in the name of Mujahideen Karim in December 2015.

The prosecutor added: "He used those fake profiles to pose as Mr Karim posting material online that encourages and glorified Islamic terrorism.

"The second strand of this campaign took place in January 2016, when the defendant sent a report to Metropolitan Police website, in the name of Mr Karim's uncle, to report a false bomb threat.

"The email alleged that Mr Karim was planning to detonate it at the Kier Hardy Primary School in Canning Town.

"The third strand of this campaign was he attempted to portray Mr Karim as a paedophile. To do this he created a video alleging him to be so."

In January he sent a series indecent images of a child to Mr Karim's family and posted them on fake social media profiles.

The court heard Shohidul Islam also created a fake account on porn website Xvideos using his own laptop, and uploaded "material of a pornographic nature purporting to be linked to Mr Karim and his wife".

After his arrest in January 2016 police searched through his computer and phone devices and found a copy of The Anarchist's Cookbook.

Mr Weekes said: "There can be an inference that he intended in some way to make use of that document, and others found on his phone as part of that continued campaign against Mr Karim.

"We say that in light of what had been happening in December and the creation of the fake social medial accounts."

The jury heard Islam had previously married the victim's sister in 2010, but the marriage had not worked out and by 2016 had brokendown completely.

The prosecutor said: "The failure of that marriage was one of the driving forces of his attack on Mr Karim. His anger towards that family began after that breakdown.

"The defendant's bile towards his ex-wife's family appears to have been centred on Mr Karim with whom he had a particular problem."

The court heard back in September 2015 a fake Facebook account was set up under Mr Karim's name while he was in Bangladesh.

That account was used to send abuse to prominent members of Mr Karim's community in Bangladesh, it was said.

There is no direct evidence as to who set up the account, but the prosecution said there was an inference that it was set up by Islam.

On November 28, 2015, a YouTube account was created under the name Laura Kenyon, which was used by Shohidul Islam to create a video claiming Mr Karim had abused children in the UK.

​The prosecutor said: "Uploaded was a video entitled 'Must watch child abuser, stay away from him'.

"An image of Mr Karim was used and the video suggested that he had been convicted inhis 'home country' of child abuse in 2001.

"It suggests he targets children online, has been arrested several times in the UK because he abused so many children and says he should be deported from the UK."

The jury were told the allegation from the video was "entirely untrue" but "serves to show the depths of the defendant's desire to cause problems for Mr Karim."

It was after this in December 2015 other social media accounts began to post messages purporting to be from Mr Karim, in support for Islamic extremism.

Mr Weekes said: "It moved from the merely deeply nasty to the positively criminal.

"In this phase the defendant sort to portray Mr Karim as a violent terrorist and a man who supported the aims of that most chilling of all terror groups, Islamic State."

Shohidul Islam, of Bradford, denies all five counts against him.

The trial continues.