A woman who kept secret her brother’s plot to kill people in a terrorist attack has been sentenced today, Tuesday, 18 August, at Woolwich Crown Court.
A six-and-a-half-month, covert investigation by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command identified that Sneha Chowdhury, 26 of Luton knew her brother was planning to carry out a terrorist attack.
She was sentenced today to two years’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, and given a 60-day rehabilitation order. Sneha Chowdhury was previously found guilty of one count of failing to disclose information regarding terrorist activity.
Mohuissunnath Chowdhury, 29 who was sentenced to life imprisonment last month for planning to carry out a terrorist attack, was recorded at home telling his sister that he was “doing another attack”, and asking her for help to practice stabbing people – alarming information which she did not report to police.
Commander Richard Smith, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “There is no acceptable reason for listening to someone say they are planning to kill innocent people, and watching them practice how they will do that, then not reporting it to police.
“Sneha Chowdhury willfully kept her brother’s horrific secret, but not every case has to end this way. If relatives report indications that a loved one is becoming radicalised early on, there is an opportunity for authorities to intervene and help them before they become too deeply entrenched. All it takes is a phone call.”
Anyone who has concerns that someone may be becoming radicalised, or who has concerns about suspicious behaviour, is urged to act by reporting it to police in confidence at www.gov.uk/act or by calling 0800 789 321.
Reporting won’t ruin lives, but it could save them.
The Met Police Counter Terrorism Command’s investigation – supported by the UK security service and Eastern Region Special Operations Unit – culminated in detectives arresting the siblings together on 3 July 2019.
On 10 February 2020, at Woolwich Crown Court, a jury found Sneha Chowdhury guilty of one count of failing to disclose information regarding terrorist activity.
The jury also found her brother guilty of preparation of acts of terrorism, for a plot to carry out an attack at a tourist hotspot in London; dissemination of a terrorist publication – in relation to a violent terrorist propaganda video he sent the covert officers; and possession of information useful to terrorism, for having a guide to carrying out terror attacks on his phone.
He was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment on 9 July, and must serve a minimum of 25 years in prison.
