Edinburgh, Oct.24 : Muslims attending prayers at Edinburgh's central mosque last night criticised the eight-year jail sentence handed to Mohammed Atif Siddique as too severe.

Karim Adam Zarhara, 31, said: "I think he is the victim of political interference. Whatever happened to freedom of speech?"

Rohan Haksar said he believed the sentence was "very unjust".

Sana Ashraf, 21, said she had not followed the case, but believed Siddique was "disadvantaged" by being a devout Muslim.

"If you're Asian, you have a beard and are religious, it's going to work against you from the start," the law student was quoted by Scotsman, as saying.

Mohammed Ali, a 21-year-old student, said: "I don't think it's good for young people to be made a criminal for motives alone.

"It would be very different if there was a tangible crime, such as being caught with bomb-making material.

"A better way to deal with someone who has an unhealthy interest in something is through education, not by locking them up."

Another Muslim, who did not want to be named, also criticised the punishment.

"If this man is jailed for eight years, how long will Tony Blair and George Bush be jailed for what they have done in Iraq?" he asked. (ANI)