Ex-ISIS member imprisoned for child indoctrination

A court heard that Youssef Uweinat was found with a letter in his prison cell from Isaac El Matari, the self-proclaimed Australian ISIS commander, in May 2020.

An Islamic State member who attempted to indoctrinate children online has been sentenced to almost four years in prison.

On Monday, the NSW Supreme Court was told how Youssef Uweinat, 22, shared terrorist propaganda online over five months between June and December, 2019, including images of the ISIS flag on top of Australian landmarks including Parliament House, the Anzac bridge and Sydney’s Town Hall.

The court heard Uweinat superimposed terrorist symbols on a child’s head in a video and declared he would die for the group, despite later admitting to the court he did not mean what he said.

Youssef Uweinat will go to jail for nearly four years for trying to indoctrinate children into ISIS.

Uweinat was sentenced by Justice Geoffrey Bellew after pleading guilty to being a member of the Islamic State and advocating for a terrorist offence.

The court heard Uweinat became focused on radical ideology after speaking with street preachers in 2019.

In a video he shared online, the court heard he spoke to a child in a school uniform.

Uweinat said to the boy: “The Islamic State”, to which the child replies, “It will remain...Allah is the greatest”.

He sent audio and wrote messages to young people, including one message to a group chat titled: “Reasons for Jihad”.

The 12 reasons included, “Hoping for martyrdom” and “Jihad is the highest peak of Islam”.

A martyr is someone who is persecuted or killed for advocating a religious belief or cause.

He shared a disturbing video, in which he said the group would not stop until “we have the head of every tyrant”.

The court heard he was found with a letter in his prison cell from Isaac El Matari - the self-proclaimed Australian ISIS commander, in May 2020.

But Justice Bellew accepted that was 18 months ago - telling the court Uweinat had high hopes of rehabilitation if he chose not to associate with people like El Matari.

El Matari was also sentenced today, to at least five-and-a-half years for three terrorism-related offences.

In a letter to the court, Uweinat apologised saying he was “naive” and now knows the Islamic State beliefs are “extreme, false and barbaric”.

“I want to put this terrible experience behind me...I hope to earn Australians’ forgiveness and trust,” he wrote.

He has renounced his membership, the court heard.

Justice Bellew sentenced Uweinat to three years and 11 months in prison, making him eligible for parole on November 3 next year.