Following an investigation by officers from the Met Police Counter Terrorism Command into social media messages that were brought to police by members of the public, a lady from North West London was convicted guilty of providing support to a banned terrorist organization.

According to Detective Chief Superintendent Gareth Rees of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, "whether it be online or in the real world, showing support for a terrorist organization is a criminal offence that we take seriously."

Our Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit was contacted in this instance over the online posts. Following an investigation by specialist officers that determined the posts might have violated anti-terrorism laws, we were able to identify the perpetrator and prosecute her.

“Any content referred to us in this way will always be carefully assessed and where potential offences are identified, we will investigate and take action.”

Sara El-Houssein, 23, of north west London was found guilty on Friday, 12 July at Westminster Magistrates’ Court of publishing an image of an article in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse a reasonable suspicion that she is a supporter of a proscribed organisation – namely Hamas – contrary to section 13(1A) of the Terrorism Act 2000. She is due to be sentenced on 20 August.

On 17 October 2023, a public referral was made into the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU), highlighting posts linked to a social media account that were allegedly showing support towards Hamas.

The posts were assessed by specialist officers in the CTIRU, who believed the posts could be in breach of terrorism legislation, and the case was passed for further investigation.

Further enquiries were carried out to identify the user behind the account, which led officers to arrest El-Houssein on 2 November 2023. She was released on bail and subsequently charged in March with the above offence.