Terrorist who threatened to set fire to Islamic Centre jailed

A man who was convicted of terrorism offences after threatening to set fire to an Islamic Centre has been jailed.

Sam Imrie posted messages to the web forum Telegram on 4 July 2019. He drove to the Fife Islamic Centre in Glenrothes and posted images and footage showing the outside of the building.

Imrie then drove to an abandoned building in Thornton and filmed himself setting fire to the doorway, before posting the video and pretending it was an Islamic centre.

The 24-year-old had earlier set fire to a headstone at a cemetery in Markinch, filming the blaze.

Imrie posted numerous messages on Telegram which glorified terrorist acts carried out by Anders Brevik and Brenton Tarrant and contained offensive comments about Muslim and Jewish communities.

All these actions were intended to encourage terrorism and Imrie was convicted under the Terrorism Act after a trial last month. He was also convicted of collecting information useful to someone preparing an act of terrorism after the manifestos of Tarrant and Breivik were found in his Glenrothes home.

Imrie was also found guilty of two counts of wilful fireraising, possessing both indecent photographs of children and extreme pornography, and driving when under the influence of alcohol.

On Thursday, he was sentenced to a total of 7 years and 6 months in prison.

Jennifer Harrower, Procurator Fiscal for Specialist Casework, said: "Sam Imrie’s posts glorifying and encouraging acts of terrorism were wholly unacceptable.

"COPFS, along with our partner agencies, will continue to ensure those committing offences under the terrorism legislation are brought to justice."