Sneha Chowdhury: Woman who practised knife fights with London terror plot brother is spared jail
A woman who practised knife fights with her brother as he plotted a terrorist attack in London has been spared jail after a judge said she acted out of “misguided loyalty”.
Mohiussunnath Chowdhury, 29, was last month jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years after planning a gun, knife and van massacre in the capital.
His sister Sneha Chowdhury, 26, was handed a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, on Tuesday for failing to tell police about an imminent attack.
Her brother was arrested after unwittingly revealing to undercover police officers his plans to target popular tourist attractions, including Madame Tussauds, the gay Pride parade and an open-top sightseeing bus.
He also bragged about deceiving an Old Bailey jury which cleared him of a sword attack on police outside Buckingham Palace in August 2017.
A Woolwich Crown Court trial heard that his sister knew he was training with wooden swords, known as bokkens, practising knife fighting and rehearsing beheading attacks at the family home in Luton.
She was sentenced by Judge Andrew Lees on Tuesday after a jury found her guilty in February of failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism between April 13 and July 3 2019 following a trial alongside her brother.
He said he had decided to take the “exceptional” step of suspending her prison sentence, imposing a 60-day rehabilitation requirement and notification order, after finding she does not “present a risk or danger to the public”.
“I accept you were subject to controlling behaviour by the male members of your family,” the judge told her. “Nevertheless, your relationship with your brother is very close.
“There is no evidence that you shared or had any interest in his extremist views. I accept you didn’t do what you should’ve done out of a misguided loyalty to your brother.”
She sobbed in the dock, smiled, then hugged her family members and barrister after she walked free from the courtroom.