Khawaja, 27, was sentenced Friday in Woolwich Crown Court to 12 years in prison, having pleaded guilty to preparing acts of terrorism and other terror-related charges, London’s Metropolitan Police said.
“Khawaja chose to become a terrorist, engaged in weapons training in a terrorist training camp and faked his own death in order to conceal his entry back into the UK,” Metropolitan Police counterterrorism Cmdr. Richard Walton said Friday. “This sentence sends a powerful message to those who plan or prepare acts of terrorism overseas or here in the UK.”
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A second man accused of helping Khawaja, Asim Ali, 33, of west London, was arrested in August. He was accused of, among other things, giving Khawaja money before Khawaja left for Syria.
Ali pleaded guilty in December to entering a funding arrangement for the purposes of terrorism. He was sentenced Friday to 21 months in prison, Metropolitan Police said.
