Indian engineer Mehdi Masroor Biswas, who was behind the popular pro-ISIS Twitter account @shamiwitness, will become one of the first people in India to face terrorism charges over online activity. An Indian court ruled on April 29, 2016 that Biswas would be charged with involvement in cyber terrorism under Section 66 F of India's Information Technology Act 2000.
The prosecution argued that Biswas tweeted and retweeted thousands of ISIS messages, and posted pictures and videos in support of the group. It also alleged that his Twitter account became "a meeting place for ISIS supporters trying to connect to ISIS leaders and to accounts of ISIS individuals already in Syria and Iraq." Biswas connected ISIS sympathizers with group leaders such as Sheikh Abu Hafs Al-Masri to facilitate their recruitment, and provided information to Westerners regarding border crossings into Syria.
Biswas's trial is set to begin next month.
For more, see MEMRI CJL report, Days After MEMRI Highlights Leading English-Language Pro-ISIS Tweeter In Landmark Report, He Is Exposed As Indian Executive, Not Fighter In Syria/Iraq; Now At Large In India, December 12, 2014.
Source: Indianexpress.com, May 13, 2016.
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