Overview

• The Special Court for Trial of NIA Cases in Kochi sentenced Mohammed Azarudeen and Sheik Hidayathullah to eight years of rigorous imprisonment each, with the terms to run concurrently.
• The court convicted them under UAPA Sections 38 and 39 and IPC Section 120B for recruiting and propagating the Islamic State's ideology.
• Prosecutors said the pair formed a WhatsApp group, held secret classes, and used social media to target vulnerable youths, with large caches of ISIS videos, posters, and radical speeches recovered.
• NIA reported that the 2019 case, initiated after the Sri Lanka Easter attacks, produced forensic evidence including material attributed to Sri Lankan ISIS leader Zahran Hashim on the accused's devices.
• The men, identified as residents of Ukkadam in Coimbatore, were active between 2017 and March 2019 and are also accused in the 2022 Coimbatore blast case.