Nottingham man on trial accused of encouraging terrorism online

A man from Nottingham is on trial at Birmingham Crown Court accused of encouraging others to commit, prepare, or instigate acts of terrorism.

Ajmal Shahpal has denied two counts of encouraging others to commit, prepare, or instigate acts of terrorism and two alternative charges of the same offence being reckless as to whether such acts would be encouraged.

According to prosecutors Shahpal encouraged others to carry out terror attacks and posted an image of a victim's severed head on his social media account. However, Shahpal said he only retweeted praise of a terrorist to gain more followers.

The trial is ongoing.

Image: Queen Elizabeth Law Courts
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