News Criminal Defence 21st Apr 2015

Teenager Charged with Acts of Terrorism and ‘Terror Grooming’

Peter Lownds is acting for a teenager accused of grooming a fellow college student into buying ingredients to be used in a pipe bomb and to attack one or more British soldiers with a kitchen knife or meat cleaver. The individual he was alleged to have groomed has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and suffers from Asperger’s syndrome and has been described as vulnerable. The defendant, who denied wrongdoing, said he had only spoken to the individual about getting the components for a bomb as an “experiment” in radicalisation.

A series of exchanges between the pair on BlackBerry Messenger and social media sites were uncovered when police raided a house in east London where the defendant lived with his family.

The plot was said to have been unwittingly sabotaged by the defendants victim, who failed to buy any of the right ingredients for a bomb and revealed what was going on to “a few friends”.

The defendant is the nephew of Kazi Nurur Rahman, who travelled to Pakistan before dropping out of a training camp with the July 7 bombers.

Rahman was released from prison four years ago after serving half of his nine year sentence for trying to buy Uzi submachine guns and shoulder-launched missiles.

Peter’s client is charged under s.5 of the Terrorism Act 2006 with engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts. The trial is currently taking place at the Old Bailey.

He is instructed by Shane Parkin of Maidments Solicitors.


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