A man charged with the kidnapping of two Western journalists by Islamic extremists in Syria will go on trial with another man in June, he was told when he appeared in a British court on Thursday.
Jubayer Chowdhury, 24, of no fixed address, appeared by videolink at the Old Bailey, the central criminal court in London, and was remanded in custody for a preliminary hearing in April.
He will be tried with a British trainee doctor, Shajul Islam, 26, on a charge of imprisoning British photographer John Cantlie and Dutch journalist Jeroen Oerlemans against their will in July while they were covering the Syrian conflict.
The trial will start at the Old Bailey on June 5 and is expected to last six weeks.
Chowdhury was arrested by counter-terrorism police at London’s Heathrow Airport last month after arriving on a flight from Bahrain.
Cantlie has said he and Oerlemans were held by some 30 Islamic militants from countries including Britain, Pakistan and Chechnya.
Both men suffered gunshot wounds when the Free Syrian Army, the main rebel movement fighting troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, freed them from their captors.
Pair to face trial in UK over Syria kidnap
