Muslim Terror Suspect to Court: Britain is ‘a Joke’

legal aid
Lonpicman / Wikimedia Commons

A British Muslim terror suspect who has pleaded guilty to disseminating terrorist materials online called the United Kingdom “a joke” in court before telling those present that he should be tried in an “Islamic court”.

Atiq Ahmed, who pleaded guilty to two charges, posting terrorist propaganda to his Google Plus account, said that he was doing so out of “curiosity” and for “study”.

But his rantings in court, as well as his history of admittance to hospital, may lead to him receiving a lenient sentence. Judge Michael Topolski QC admitted at the Old Bailey: “The psychiatric element is going to be important for me to consider.”

He reportedly “rocked his head back and forth” and “muttered to himself” during the proceedings, at one point stating: “People kill innocent people and blame us.”

Ahmed, who is from Oldham, in the North West, told the court, “I want out of this land… it’s like a joke to me.”

He left the court room saying, “It should be an Islamic court. This is an enemy of Islam court”.

The Express reports:

Prosecutor Steven Gray said the Crown accepted the pleas on the basis that he was “reckless” as to the effect of the material.

The court heard Ahmed had “literally thousands” of files on his computer, many of which were of a religious or historical context

Ahmed pleaded not guilty to a further charge of possessing material useful for terrorist purposes, which was allowed to lie on file.

The alleged document, entitled ‘Hijra to the Islamic State’, is said to be an ISIS ‘how to guide’ for aspiring Jihadis.

His barrister Andrew Selby said: “This is a man who has had a number of hospital admissions.”

The judge said: “There won’t be a trial now, but there will be a sentencing exercise to go through,” which is expected to occur on September 21st 2015.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.