Walsall terror trial: Man sold gold for ISIS brother

Wolverhampton University law graduate Mohammed Iqbal Hussain, aged 26, said £1,200 raised by selling Zohura Siddeka's dowry was 'put to one side' for when she and his brother Musadikur, both 29, returned home to the Black Country from the Islamic Caliphate or to pay for 'flights or smugglers', the Old Bailey was told.

The 26-year-old, of Castle Road, Walsall Wood, who had earlier arranged for £10,000 to be sent via Western Union in the Lebanon, funded by the sale of Musadikur's BMW and the accumulation of Siddeka's maternity pay, was to help them 'buy a house' in Syria after they failed to come back from a holiday in Turkey in December 2014.

He told the court at first he thought his brother was working as a builder and was not a terrorist. Giving evidence, he said: "My brother told me it was for a house for him and his wife. He told me in January."

Asked by his defence barrister Mr Nigel Lambert QC whether he had any reasonable cause to believe his brother was a terrorist, he replied: "No."

But in mobile phone exchanges between Musadikur and his family back in Walsall it became clear he was an ISIS fighter living in the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, Mr Lambert told the court.

On April 4 last year, one of the men's sisters, Rokhfa Begum, warned Hussain that sending money to their brother in Syria was a criminal offence, Mr Lambert said.

"I decided I was going to send no more money," Hussain said.

Asked why he went on to sell Siddeka's gold and arrange for his brother's Rado watch, a wedding gift, to be sold, he said: "My brother kept hassling me. I was scared he would cut us off and not stay in contact. He was pressurising me."

Asked whether money would be needed to help his brother and his wife return, Hussain said: "I didn't know, maybe for an aeroplane ticket or a smuggler."

The defendant was also asked to explain mobile phone messages previously shown to the jury that appeared to show he supported his brother and his extreme views.

He said: "I had to go along with it to keep him on board and as someone he could turn to."

Hussain is accused of funding terrorism alongside his older brother Mohamed Sayaubur Rohaman, 32, also of Castle Road, Walsall Wood.

Also accused are Maruf Uddin, 26, of Earl Street, Palfrey, and Mohammed Atiqur Rahman Khan, 27, of Buckle Close, Caldmore, who allegedly took out credit cards to raise funds for the pair. All four deny the charges.

The trial continues.