Kerala High Court Upholds Conviction Of Riyas Aboobakkar For Propagating ISIS Ideologies, Awards 8-Yr Rigorous Imprisonment

The Kerala High Court has upheld the conviction imposed upon Riyas Aboobakkar by the Special Court constituted under the NIA Act. His conviction under Sections 38 (offence relating to membership of a terrorist organisation) and 39 ( offence relating to support given to a terrorist organisation) of the UAPA, read with Section 120B of the IPC was upheld by the High Court.The Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice Jobin Sebastian found that Riyas Aboobakkar propagated ISIS ideology and advocated war against non-Muslims. The Court modified the punishment imposed upon the appellant and reduced his imprisonment to 8 years of Rigorous Imprisonment instead of 10 years of Rigorous Imprisonment under Sections 38 and 39 of the UAPA, by considering various factors. “It has also been established that the accused was a party to the criminal conspiracy to further the activities of the terrorist organization and to garner support by migrating to ISIS controlled territories. It has also been established that the accused had associated himself and had professed to be associated with ISIS, with intent to further its activities. Materials also clearly reveal that the accused with intent to further the activities of the proscribed organization had invited support and thereby committed the offence punishable under Section 120B of the IPC r/w. Sections 38 and 39 of the UA(P) Act and Sections 38 and 39 of the UA(P) Act.”As per facts, the 2016 police investigation into several missing cases revealed that missing persons left India to join ISIS, a terrorist organization included under the UAPA. The Special Investigation Team found that two persons were involved with ISIS to transport persons to Afghanistan. During the investigation of the main case, it was found that the appellant maintained contact with the main accused and others who joined ISIS. It is also alleged that the appellant was strongly influenced by the violent extremist ideology of ISIS and motivated others to join ISIS. It was found that the appellant conducted conspiracy meetings to carry out suicide attacks in Kerala to further the terrorist activities of ISIS.The NIA Court framed charges and the Special Court found the appellant guilty and convicted him to ten years of rigorous imprisonment under Sections 38 and Section 39. An imprisonment of five years was also imposed under Section 120B of the IPC. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently. Aggrieved by the conviction, appeal was preferred. The High Court observed that the NIA Court convicted the appellant based on evidence provided by two other accused individuals who had turned approvers and were granted pardon by the NIA Court. Relying upon various Apex Court decisions, the Court stated that the approver's evidence could be subjected to two tests to assess its credibility, the first test is to show that the approver is a reliable witness and the second test is to that his evidence must receive sufficient corroboration. Considering the evidence put forth by the approvers, the Court found that there was evidence that they were being tried to be radicalized by the appellant and that it is credible. It said, “Having evaluated the evidence of PWs 1 and 2, we find that both of them were young men, who were persuaded by the inflammatory messages, voice clips, and videos forwarded to them by the appellant. Their version before the Court is sufficiently corroborated by the Call Data Records and digital evidence. We are of the view that the contentions advanced by the learned counsel appearing for the appellant is that they are unreliable and no reliance can be placed on the same cannot be accepted.”Regarding the digital evidence, the Court observed that the mere delay in the production of the certificate under Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act has caused prejudice to the appellant. The Court further stated that there is sufficient evidence including call data records etc., to prove that the appellant organized conspiracy meetings to plan terrorist attacks and suicide bombings. The Court noted that there is digital evidence and statements of witnesses to prove that the appellant supported ISIS and looked down on Muslims who accepted democratic principles. The Court further stated that data in Gmail, Facebook, YouTube, Google and his mobile data also proves that the appellant supported ISIS and persuaded others to join ISIS to commit terrorist activities. It noted that there was evidence that the appellant chatted with other ISIS leaders who carry suicide bombings. It noted that there is evidence that the accused liked and shared images, videos and content supporting ISIS. The Court thus concluded, “He posted ISIS-related content on Facebook, shared videos of Abdul Rashid Abdulla and Abdul Khayoom, and disseminated links to ISIS Telegram channels. Organized and addressed conspiracy meetings with PW1 and PW2 near Lulu Mall and Marine Drive on 26.10.2018. Discussed Hijra (migration) to...

Kerala High Court Upholds Conviction Of Riyas Aboobakkar For Propagating ISIS Ideologies, Awards 8-Yr Rigorous Imprisonment

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