Bangladeshi couple in US jailed for supporting relatives’ efforts to join IS

A Bangladesh couple living in Pennsylvania has been sentenced to over two years in prison after it was found that they sent money to two relatives in Bangladesh to help them travel to Syria and join the Islamic State.

Shahidul Gaffar, a 40-year-old naturalised citizen, and his wife Nabila Khan, a 35-year-old permanent resident of the USA, have been found guilty of helping fund Nabila’s brothers in their journey to become IS fighters, reports Latin Times citing The Philadelphia Inquirer.

When her elder brother Junaid Hasan Khan started talking about traveling to Syria, Nabila flew with her children to Bangladesh to be with her family.

Her other brother Ibrahim Khan, who was studying in New York at the time, abandoned his studies after a break-up and returned to Bangladesh. He also began talking about joining the Islamic State.

Nabila has now lost both of her brothers — one confirmed dead in battle in Syria in 2019, the other missing and presumed dead.

Gaffar told the court on Thursday that he and his wife foolishly indulged Ibrahim, hoping they could talk him out of going and fearing if they pushed back too hard it might push him away.

The money Gaffar sent to Bangladesh was mostly intended to support his wife while she was overseas, he said. Ibrahim had pressured her to give it to him instead.

“The thought process was: Since we’ve already lost one brother, let’s not lose another,” said Gaffar.

“We tried to solve our own problem. This is why I didn’t go to the police here. This is why I didn’t alert police there. We thought we could handle it ourselves.”

While the court has expressed sympathy for the couple’s predicament, they still received a heavy sentence to show others the consequences of supporting the Islamic State. Gaffar received 18 months in prison while Nabila received a two-year sentence and possible deportation, reports ANI News.

“I do believe they are contrite,” Assistant US Attorney Sarah M Wolfe told the court.

“Obviously, they’ve lost family members because of this. But I do think there’s an important message that needs to be sent: Material support [for terrorism], in any measure, is illegal and will not be ignored.”

Nabila will serve her sentence first before Gaffar, as the staggered application of their sentencing will allow their four children to always have a guardian with them during the prison sentence.