UK Court: Two Men Acquitted Of Terror Charges
A Bermuda-born man has been cleared of planning a terrorist attack in the United Kingdom following a trial held at the Old Bailey, while his cousin, also born in Bermuda, was cleared of failing to disclose a plot to authorities.
A BBC story said, “A former chicken shop worker has been cleared of planning a drone terrorism attack after a trial at the Old Bailey.
“Hisham Muhammad, 26, was accused of having a stash of weapons and devising a contraption with lollipop sticks to drop a projectile from a small drone.
“He was arrested in June 2018 after his landlord became suspicious after seeing knives, a tub of wires and a soldering iron at his home in Bury.
“He had denied engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism. His cousin Faisal Abu Ahmad, 25, who lived with him in Victoria Avenue, Whitefield, was cleared of failing to disclose a plot to authorities.”
A Sky News story said, “A fast food worker who called himself the “local terrorist” has been cleared of plotting an attack on an army base near his home using axes, knives and a drone.
“Hisham Muhammad, 26, was accused of conducting a reconnaissance mission around the barracks of the Royal Fusiliers in Bury, Greater Manchester, posing as a potential recruit.
“An earlier jury had been unable to reach a verdict and a second jury unanimously cleared Muhammad of preparing acts of terrorism and his cousin, Faisal Abu Ahmad, 25, of failing to inform police.
“Officers found the pair, who were originally from Bermuda, had been sleeping on mattresses in the same room, while one of the other rooms was used as a makeshift gym. Police arrested the pair in June 2018.
“Muhammad had been researching the weapons used by firearms officers in Manchester and prosecutors suggested that he was planning to ambush them and steal an assault rifle for his attack.
“When police visited the house in the Whitemoor area of the town, they seized Muhammad’s laptop and discovered he had been watching IS videos, including one called My Revenge.
“Prison officers found a note in his cell, three weeks before his re-trial in which he said he wanted to “apologise to absolutely nobody.”
“He finished with the words “Dawlatul Islam baaqiya la ilah – Kalimah on the flag”, which translated as: “The Islamic State will last forever, there is only one god – the words on the flag.”
“Muhammad was brought up in the minority Muslim community in Bermuda, a British Overseas Territory, and has a British passport.”
You can read the full stories here on BBC and here on Sky News.
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