Cyber terrorist returns to the UK after leaving a US prison

He was originally accused of cybor terrorism in the UK

Babar Ahmad, 41, has returned to his family in London after leaving prison

A man jailed in the US for cyber terrorism committed in this country is back in the UK.

Babar Ahmad, 41, has returned to his family in London after leaving prison last month.

He was taken to the US in 2012, after fighting an eight-year campaign against extradition, for offences he was accused of committing in the UK.

Ahmad joined the Bosnian Army in the 1990s to defend Muslim communities from Serbian-administered genocide during the collapse of Yugoslavia.

He later distributed recordings which told the stories of dead Muslim fighters, described by Ahmad to be martyrs, and then developed the Azzam Publications website, which contained support in its later years for the Taliban.

Ahmad, from Tooting, south London, was jailed in the UK for 10 years before extradition despite not being charged with any offence.

He pleaded guilty in the US to conspiracy and providing material support to terrorism and was sentenced to 12-and-a-half years.

In a statement, Mr Ahmad said he now has "absolutely nothing. Yet I am rich".

“11 years of solitary confinement and isolation in ten different prisons has been an experience too profound to sum up in a few words," he said.

“In October 2012, I was blindfolded, shackled and forcibly stripped naked when I was extradited to the US. Last week, US and UK government officials treated me with courtesy and respect during my journey home.

"In time, I look forward to sharing reflections on my experience to help inform others. I recognise that the world has moved on since 2004, yet in some ways, sadly it has failed to progress."

In 2008, the Metropolitan Police agreed to pay Ahmad £60,000 in damages after acknowledging he had been subjected to violent assault and religious abuse during the raid in which he was arrested in London.