Pair accused of planning to behead poppy seller in Lee Rigby-style attack walk free from court
A third man had already been convicted of the terror plot
TWO terror suspects who were accused of plotting a Lee Rigby-style attack on Remembrance Day have today walked free from court.
Haseeb Hamayoon, 28, and Yousaf Syed, 20, were accused of plotting to behead a poppy seller or a police officer with a "Rambo-style" knife.
Brit Yousaf ‘s cousin Nadir Syed – also British - had already been convicted of the terror plot.
Yousaf Syed smiled and hugged Hamayoon as he was acquitted of the same offence yesterday after a retrial at the Old Bailey.
Today Hamayoon smiled at the public gallery as a second jury failed to reach a verdict despite an alleged confession to his prison cellmate.
Mr Justice Wilkie entered not guilty verdicts when the prosecution offered no evidence against him.
After being told he was free to go Hamayoon stood up and said: "I would just like to thank all of you - the prosecution, and you [the judge]."
Nadir Syed now faces a life sentence when he is handed his jail term later this month.
The Old Bailey had heard the men were acting in response to a fatwa that called for attacks in the West issued by ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani.
The court heard how the trio gloated over terrorist attacks, including 9/11 and the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby, in WhatsApp groups.
Jurors were also told they had posted abusive messages about wearing poppies for Remembrance Day in the days before their arrest.
Just days before Remembrance Day in 2014 Hamayoon was said to have used WhatsApp to send a poster of poppies with the message "Don't feel sorry for the disbelieving people".
Two days later Nadir Syed wrote that “wearing a poppy supports murdering terrorists” and posted another image featuring poppies and the Angel of the North.
The court heard his cousin Yousaf replied: “Poppies piss me off.”
Nadir Syed said: “It is like a middle finger to our faces.”
Yousaf – who argued his social media posts mocking victims of terror attacks were just “dark humour” - allegedly added: “What do you expect living in the midst of our enemies? Not black flags, poppies.”
In one of the WhatsApp messages it was alleged he wrote: “Let's link up on 9/11 for a chill out.”
Earlier in the year the Syeds tried to travel to Syria with a third man who went on to become an Islamic State fighter, jurors were told.
Hamayoon allegedly had pictures of community support officers on his phone and a 'Rambo First Blood 2' knife at his home.
He was also said to have warned President Obama "is going to die soon".
But he told the Old Bailey his posts were not meant to be taken literally.
All three men had shared graphic footage of westerners being beheaded and praised the actions of others committing terrorist attacks around the world on social media, the Old Bailey heard.
Giving evidence, Yousaf said: “At the time I didn't condemn it but nor did I condone it - I didn't have any sympathy for the victims of that attack because of the repercussions it had in the Middle East.
“I saw double standards, I saw big countries invading weak countries in the name of democracy and freedom but they left them in an absolute mess.
“These extreme views channelled the very dark humour we had in the group.”
But he said he would not have committed “serious violence” to anyone in the UK on the basis of his beliefs.
Yousaf said: “At the time it was the same thing that happened in 9/11 - children, women and families getting killed very day in every corner of the Middle East so I didn't have that much sympathy.
“But at the same time I didn't condone what happened.”
The court heard Hamayoon, who has a Pakistani passport, had lived in Australia and the USA.
Yousaf Syed, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, and Hamayoon from Hayes, west London, who were arrested on November 6 2014, both denied a charge of preparation of acts of terrorism.
Yousaf Syed was acquitted of preparing an act of terrorism between September 20 September and 7 November 2014.
His cousin Nadir was convicted of the same offence at the first trial in December.
Jurors failed to reach a verdict in the case of Hamayoon and prosecutors indicated they would not pursue a second retrial.
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