Boy cleared of terror charges for planning Daesh-inspired attack in UK

LONDON: A 15-year-old boy has been cleared of planning a Daesh-inspired terrorist attack in the UK after being radicalized during the country’s coronavirus lockdown.

The teenager experimented with making “bottle bombs” in his bedroom and recorded a series of videos in which he said he would “carry out jihad,” while inciting others to do the same.

His internet history showed extensive engagement with Daesh material, including beheadings.

A note found on his phone referred to women as “tools, an object to be used as a sex slave,” and discussed Daesh’s former leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.

The boy, who converted to Islam this year, admitted in court that he had learned to make the bombs on YouTube, but denied that he had ever planned to kill anyone. 

A jury in Leicester Crown Court cleared him on Friday of charges of preparing an act of terrorism.

The court heard that he had rapidly developed “extreme views” associated with Daesh during the UK’s coronavirus lockdown, raising concerns by police that the lengthy lockdown could make people more vulnerable to online radicalization. 

Case Prosecutor Anne Whyte said: “This is an unusual case, and it concerns the activities of a young person who, we will be suggesting, felt isolated and angry about his personal circumstances.

“Even though he was young, he had developed extremist views, radical views, associated with the terrorist organization Islamic State (Daesh). This probably happened in early 2020.”

Daesh’s ideology “filled a big gap in his life, and made him feel special in a way that he could not feel within his family and social structures,” she added.

The boy’s family had been involved with social services amid concerns over child neglect, and he had previously spent time in foster care.

Daesh’s radical ideology has previously found fertile ground among disaffected Westerners, including converts to Islam.