Naa'imur Zakariyah Rahman
Naa'imur Zakariyah Rahman (born 23 July 1997) is an Islamic State terrorist who was convicted of plotting to kill the British prime minister, Theresa May; the plot was investigated by Counter Terrorism Command (CTC), part of the Metropolitan Police, under the name 'Operation Dowl'. Mark Heywood QC represented the Crown in this case involving the plot by two individuals to kill the Prime Minister. Rahman was originally from Birmingham, but lived in Finchley at the time of his sentencing. Rahman had planned to detonate bombs at the gates of Downing Street and then behead the Prime Minister, but was arrested beforehand due to an FBI and MI5 operation. Rahman was arrested in November 2017 in London, after collecting a fake bomb and suicide vest from undercover operatives. He was found guilty at the Old Bailey in July 2018 of conspiracy to commit terrorism and creating extremist material for recruitment purposes. In August 2018, he was given a life sentence and jailed for at least 30 years, with another 6 year sentence for the sponsorship video. The sentences will run concurrently. Personal background Rahman was originally from Birmingham of Bangladeshi descent, but grew up in Walsall. In 2017, Rahman was made homeless in London after falling out with his mother and close relatives. He lived in Finchley at the time of his arrest. In 2015, he was referred to a deradicalisation scheme amid concerns he could be radicalised by his extremist uncle, Musadikur Rohaman. Rohaman left the UK for Syria in 2014 and had been encouraging Rahman to engage in extremist activity. Rohaman was killed in a drone strike in June 2017, and it is believed that Rahman planned his revenge thereafter. August 2017 arrest Rahman first came to police attention in August 2017, when he was arrested on suspicion of sending indecent images to underage girls. He was not charged, but police became aware of extremist material after searching his phone. Theresa May assassination attempt In September 2017, Rahman made contact with an FBI agent on social media, believing him to be an Islamic State recruiter. He was then referred to a team of MI5 role players, who convinced him they were Islamic State leaders. The team then introduced Rahman to an undercover police officer in London posing as "Shaq", a weapons fixer. When meeting the officer, Rahman explained his aspirations and considered attacking with firearms and a truck bomb. He settled for storming Downing Street and killing Theresa May. In November 2017, Rahman met with and laid out his final plan to the undercover officer. The recording of the meeting was played in court: On 18 November 2017, Rahman carried out reconnaissance around Whitehall. Two days later he bought a rucksack from Argos, and then met with an undercover officer in Brixton to have it and a jacket fitted with explosives. On 28 November 2017, the officer met with Rahman in Kensington and returned the jacket and bag with fake explosives. Rahman then left the scene, stating that he