Overview
- Isa Giga, 32, was sentenced to nine years plus a one‑year extended licence and will face 15 years of terrorist offender notification requirements.
- Jurors found he prepared to fight in Syria after he flew from Heathrow to Istanbul and on to Adana on 7 September 2015 before crossing the border.
- Emails to his family said he had come to “fight for jihad,” was based in Idlib, and supported Jaysh al Fath, an alliance that included an Al‑Qaeda‑affiliated group.
- Giga claimed he travelled for private religious study, but evidence included family emails, flight and bank records, and 2016 messages to an undercover officer expressing support for Nusra and a desire for martyrdom.
- He was arrested at Heathrow on 23 May 2024 after returning from Turkey, and was convicted on 18 July 2025 following a two‑week trial.