Man Jailed for Life for Preparing Terror Attack

Man Jailed for Life for Preparing Terror Attack
A Birmingham man has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 16 years for planning a terror attack in the city.
Jason Savage, 35, of Fourth Avenue, Small Heath, was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday after being convicted in January of engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts, contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006.
Savage, a Muslim convert, had embraced an extreme and violent form of Salafist ideology and had long expressed admiration for Islamic State (IS).
The court was told Savage believed Sharia law should be imposed in the UK through force, and viewed mainstream clerics who rejected violence as traitors to Islam.
He had watched videos of beheadings, celebrated prison stabbings carried out on guards by Islamist inmates, and had previously been caught with a knife while in prison.
He also conducted online research into attacks on high-profile targets.
The court heard that Savage had drawn up a list of potential targets including the Israeli embassy, military facilities, and police stations in Birmingham.
He ultimately decided such attacks would be too difficult to carry out.
Instead, he turned his attention to a local Salafi cleric who had publicly denounced terrorism and warned against the use of violence in the name of Islam.
Savage considered the cleric’s views “entirely at odds” with his own, the court was told.
He carried out reconnaissance of a mosque and bookstore associated with the cleric, recording a video in which he discussed possible routes of entry and escape, and anticipated how the police might respond.
In messages sent to an individual he believed to be a supporter — but who was in fact an undercover officer — Savage suggested he was preparing for a “lone wolf” attack and said he would “see [them] in paradise”.
He also indicated he was considering a wider knife attack at the annual Eid gathering in Small Heath Park, where he believed he could target multiple clerics from different mosques in one location.
He told the officer that he had accessed ISIS propaganda, studied techniques for stabbing individuals to death, and had taken extensive photographs of knives.
Police later recovered a kitchen knife he had adapted by removing its handle and wrapping it in cloth.
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