16 January 2024 , 16:11
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A former child chess genius who was arrested after he joked ‘I am Taliban’ and said he would put a bomb on a busy easyJet flight faces paying £100,000 in fines and compensation.
The threatening claims made by gifted student Aditya Verma, 20, caused two Spanish fighter jets to take off from Zaragoza military base and confront the plane midair, which cost a staggering £86,000, as the fighter plane followed the easyJet plane to a safe landing.
He was summoned to court in Madrid on Monday to stand trial after being charged with a public order offence.
Verma, a star pupil who has represented England at several international chess tournaments, claimed: "I am a Taliban" and bragged he would blow up the plane as he travelled from the UK to Menorca.
Spanish officials have confirmed they are not seeking a prison sentence, but it is believed that Verma, now an economics student at Bath University, is facing a £82,000 compensation bill and fine of around £19,500 if he is convicted.
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Spanish officials confirmed they are not seeking a prison sentence (SOLARPIX.COM)Verma was arrested back in July 2022 but will now face a one-day trial at Spain's Audiencia Nacional court, which deals with major crimes, including terrorism, currency forgery and drug trafficking. While he hasn't asked to register a plea yet, the student is expected to protest his innocence during the trial.
While on holiday to Menorca, Verma wrote to friends on Snapchat: "I'm going to blow this plane up. I'm a Taliban." His message was reportedly sent while he was about to take off from Gatwick airport - and due to the sensitive words used, the text was picked up by their mobiles on its Wi-Fi servers, triggering alarm bells.
He was handcuffed and hauled off the EasyJet flight by armed police upon landing, and spent two nights in police custody before he appeared before a judge in Mahon, Spain. He was released on £8,600 bail and was free to leave the country, but remained under investigation by the Audiencia Nacional.
The Spanish F-18 jet fighter, seen through plane window, escorts an Easyjet flight heading from London to the Spanish holiday island of Menorca, after a hoax bomb threat (Lucy Sutton/Twitter)
The fighter jets were dispatched at a staggering cost of £86,000 (Lucy Sutton/Twitter)Verma told MailOnline: "It was a moment of madness which I regret and I'm so sorry for the trouble I caused. It was a joke and I didn't mean anything by it. I'm sorry for ruining my friends' holiday but it was all just a joke and I didn't mean to scare anyone on the plane if they were frightened by what happened.
"I sent the Snapchat message to my friends as we were boarding. It was a joke as we had been saying who was going to be stopped and searched by the security. The message said: 'I'm going to blow this plane up. I'm a Taliban,' and now I just wish I hadn't sent it.
"It was a stupid thing to do but I thought as it was a private Snapchat just my friends would see it", he added.
He added: 'My old school say they will back me and reassure both places that I am not a terrorist and a sensible person. I won't be doing anything silly again. I've learned my lesson.'
The verdict of his trial on Monday will be decided by a single professional judge and not a jury.