CHENNAI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Special Court in Chennai on Monday convicted and sentenced a Hizb-Ut-Tahrir (HuT) cadre to five years’ rigorous imprisonment for promoting the divisive and violent ideology of the terror outfit.

Abdullah alias Saravana Kumar has also been fined Rs 10,000 for offences under various sections of IPC and UA (P) Act.

The court found him guilty of advising/inciting others for commission of unlawful activity, said a press release from NIA.

NIA investigations had revealed that the accused had attempted to associate himself with the proscribed organisation with the intent of furthering its nefarious activities. He had also sought support for HuT, which seeks to establish the Caliphate by overthrowing democratically elected governments, such as in India.

As part of this agenda, the accused had uploaded posts on his Facebook account - 'Abdullah ibn Subramanian', on two occasions in 2021, with the explicit objective of disrupting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India. He had induced others to commit an offence against the State/public tranquillity with the intention to commit unlawful activities, the press release added.