According to major media reports, Shazad Ali posted propaganda and tried to recruit a 17-year-old to the so-called Islamic State group on social media. He published hundreds of videos on Instagram and TikTok in an attempt to promote the banned organisation. Bristol Crown Court heard Ali communicated extensively online with others he believed to be linked to the group and recruited six men into its ranks.
The court heard that Ali became immersed in IS ideology between July 2024 and January 2025, spending much of his time in his bedroom using his phone to promote the group online. Ali told police he had first come into contact with a man called Abu Qatada, whom he believed to be an IS member fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, while playing online games such as Roblox. Ali claimed he had acted under pressure from Abu Qatada, but investigators found no evidence to support that claim.
Ali exchanged about 1,700 messages with a 17-year-old boy over two months in attempts to recruit him to IS from al-Qaeda, the court heard. Prosecutors said Ali posted 'hundreds' of videos across Instagram and TikTok promoting the group. To avoid detection by platform algorithms, Ali disguised 'violent' pro-IS imagery with innocent content, including Pride marches and mixed martial arts.
' Ali created chats on Telegram which were used to discuss IS and involved people he believed were members of the group. The judge said he acted as a 'gatekeeper' to Abu Qatada, vetting those who wanted to access chats where the man was present. A document, providing instructions on how to make an explosive, was posted in a chat group and downloaded automatically onto Ali's device.
' Shazad Ali was sentenced to five years in custody, with an additional two years on licence after his release.