Boy, 15, 'planned Isle of Wight terror attack and wanted to stab his teacher'
A schoolboy who planned a terrorist attack on the Isle of Wight Festival was caught with a kitchen knife in his rucksack, which he allegedly intended to use on his teacher.
He denies one count of preparing acts of terrorism, three counts of disseminating terrorist publications, and one count of possessing a knife in public over the alleged plot.
Kingston Crown Court heard that the teenager, who converted to Islam in 2021, had boasted of his plans to conduct an 'imminent' attack on an unsuspecting victim. In 2022, at the age of 15, the student - who was not in mainstream education - concocted a plan to cause serious harm at the Isle of Wight musical festival with a pickup truck and a knife before later deciding against it.
His religious views were revealed to the court through online chats in which he allegedly threatened to 'slaughter' his teacher. The schoolboy, who regularly used online video game forum, Discord, with an encrypted proton email address, found others with similar religious beliefs, and revealed his plot. Prosecutor Serena Gates told the court: "It was clear from the first message [the schoolboy] posted that he must already know other members in the group."
The boy discussed his plans on Discord (stock image) (Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock)On July 4 2022, the boy messaged the group, telling them his intentions: "I'm Insh'allah [god willing] going to launch an operation today. Please make du'a [pray] for me brothers," which prompted user 'Abu Aaqib al-Albani' to respond: 'What operation?"
Nursery apologises after child with Down's syndrome ‘treated less favourably’
The boy replied: "Destroying kufr [disbelief] in the lands of the kufr is all I'm gonna say, although the kufaar [disbelievers] hate it." Shocked by the message, Al-Albani asked: "For real? Are you doing something in irl? [in real life]."
Elaborating on his plans, the youth added: "I'm generally determined. I have a location which will probably have knives to rob." Showing his support, Al-Albani said: "I'm gonna do dua [pray] for you."
The student continued: "There's a kaafir [non-believer] I know who said something about Muhammad saw [peace be upon him] which would enrage anyone with iman' [faith]. The situation got even darker, when Al-Albani asked: "U gonna kill him?" before adding: "Film it."
The student's anger stemmed from an inappropriate joke made by his tutor, in which he spoke about a fictitious girlfriend called Jaqueline working in a meat processing plant, packing pork chops in the shape of the Prophet Muhammad.
Showcasing his rage, the boy said: "Inshallah [god willing]. Let me say why, so we understand. This kaafir said his girlfriend makes pictures of Prophet saw out of pork. These evil imbeciles deserve nothing more but to be slaughtered, and if what mentioned does not enrage u, then Iman is not fully there."
A day later, user TawidOverKufr updated his online friends on the Caliphate Revivalist chat, saying: "I have robbed a kaafirs knife - step 1. So now I am waiting until I see the hostile kaafir, and I hope to make the crusaders tear their hair out."
Confirming he intended to 'slaughter a kafir', the high school student was asked to swear by Allah that he was not lying. He asserted 'wallahi', which translates as 'I swear by God'.
Noting that the boy had stated his hatred of non-believers, Ms Gates said: "You may think this is significant given his faith," and that his words suggested an 'attack was imminent'.
Defending her client, Rossano Scamardella KC, addressed the jury, explaining that the boy, who has now turned 16, explored many religions before finding Islam. She said: "He does not accept that his research included preparing an act of terrorism, but, at times, he had a morbid interest in the subject."
She claims that he was merely 'boasting and showing off in a misguided attempt to make friends and gain clout on social media. The lawyer explained that he had initially started an Instagram account to challenge ISIS, but upon receiving 'minimal' response, he switched sides.
Striking teacher forced to take a second job to pay bills ahead of mass walkout
She said: "His anti-ISIS stance attracted little interest, and in an attempt to attract notoriety, he took a different approach." Adding that his messages were 'merely showing' off, the court heard that the boy never held extremist ISIS beliefs.
It is claimed, that he merely carried a knife in a bid to protect himself from bullies due to threats of violence. The legal practitioner concluded: "He habitually left it in his rucksack and would not take it out or use it."
The trial continues.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
