'˜Evil spirits made me' claims Luton man planning to join Isis

A former straight A student from Luton claimed he planned to join Isis to exorcise '˜the evil spirits that plagued him', a court heard.

Keen computer gamer Mubashir Jamil, 22, allegedly became an ‘extreme jihadist’ after being radicalised online.

The once gifted schoolboy developed a fascination with violence and an obsession with images of dead jihadi ‘martyrs’, the Old Bailey heard.

He got a job at an Amazon warehouse to save up money as he used encrypted messaging app Telegram in a bid to join Isis in Syria and bought a flight to Turkey, it is claimed.

He even asked an ‘Isis contact’ to supply him with an explosive vest so he could launch a suicide attack on UK soil.

But Jamil was unwittingly spilling his plans to an undercover police officer posing as his Islamic State handler, ‘Abu Hasan’, in chats online.

Jurors were today (Tues) shown a video recorded as anti-terror cops raided his Luton home on 27 August last year to find Jamil in his bedroom using his laptop to talk to Abu Hasan.

Officers discovered a cabin bag packed with clothes and toiletries, an Easyjet boarding pass and Jamil’s passport, along with electronic devices, a punchbag and boxing mitts.

The court heard he told police on the way to the station ‘I want to go to and join Islamic State’, adding: ‘It’s easy to arrest me, a lone person. There are other people here who are dangerous and have access to weapons.’

He also allegedly said: ‘What will you do when Islamic State reach these shores, they won’t be so easy to stop then. And they will come.

‘The Islamic State, You have tried to stop their rise and you have failed.’

Prosecutor Barnaby Jameson told jurors Jamil made no comment in interview and explained: “The defence will say the defendant sought to join IS as a way of exorcising the various evil spirits that plagued him, that he did not have any intention to commit acts of terrorism anywhere, that he had no intention to engage in violent jihad.”

But he said Jamil made no mention of evil spirits in his online conversations or to police following his arrest.

The prosecutor added: “The Crown say there is clear evidence in this case of a radicalised young man who went out of his way to seek assistance online to join IS.

“He was caught, we say red handed, in the middle of an online conversation with Abu Hasan who turned out to be an undercover officer.

“His unsolicited comments made to police following his arrest put the matter beyond any doubt.”

Jamil, of Belmont Road, Luton, denies preparation of terrorist acts.

The alleged plans involved buying items for travel to join Isis, including a plane ticket to Antalya in Turkey, clearing his bank account and seeking to remove his Facebook account.

The trial continues.

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