Khaja Moideen, aide acquitted of IS-linked terrorism charges

A Chennai court delivered a significant blow to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) by acquitting Khaja Moideen and his associate Ansar Meeran of charges related to ISIS-linked terrorism. The NIA had presented Moideen as a central figure within India's ISIS network, alleging his involvement in radicalizing young men and establishing terror modules across southern Indian states.

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There is no evidence connecting Khaja Moideen and Ansar Meeran to any terrorist organization including ISIS. There are no materials on record (to) show that they belonged to ISIS or that they were recruiting gullible youth for ISIS

Moideen, who is currently imprisoned in Bengaluru, faces ongoing investigations by other police departments. The court also acquitted his associate, Ansar Meeran, of terrorism conspiracy charges. However, Meeran received a four-year sentence for harboring Haja Fakrudeen, a Singapore national of Indian origin. Fakrudeen, along with Moideen, was accused of radicalizing individuals during visits to Chennai in 2013 and was among the first to join ISIS in Syria with his family in January 2014.

The NIA's case, registered in 2017, initially named 10 individuals, primarily from Tamil Nadu, investigating ISIS activities in India between 2013 and 2016. The agency alleged that Fakrudeen and Moideen formed a terror module responsible for fundraising, recruitment, training, and facilitating travel to Syria. In 2018, a charge sheet was filed against Moideen, Fakrudeen (who remains absconding), Ansar Meeran, and Shakul Hameed, who had attempted to travel to Syria but was deported.

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There is no evidence, worth credence, suggestive of the fact that accused persons hatched a criminal conspiracy to join ISIS and also to recruit other persons to wage war against Syria.

In its ruling on June 10, the special NIA court in Chennai stated there was insufficient evidence to connect Khaja Moideen and Ansar Meeran to any terrorist organization, including ISIS. The court emphasized that no materials on record demonstrated their membership in ISIS or their recruitment of youth for the group. Furthermore, the court found no credible evidence suggesting the accused conspired to join ISIS or to wage war against Syria. Even the testimony of approvers in the case did not implicate Moideen and Meeran in terrorist activities, with no discussions of terrorism or violence mentioned.

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The evidence given by the approvers would show that there was no discussion of anything linked to terrorism or any form of violence

The court concluded that the prosecution failed to prove a conspiracy to commit an illegal act. The ruling highlighted that merely having contact with each other is insufficient to establish a conspiracy. The NIA has not yet responded to queries regarding the verdict.

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The prosecution did not prove that Moideen and Meeran conspired and due to the said conspiracy approvers joined the proscribed terrorist organisation by name ‘ISIS’. Merely having contact with each other will not be sufficient in order to prove the existence of conspiracy between them