A British man who told his friends via snapchat that he was a “Taliban” terrorist and about to blow up the plane he was about to board has said in his trial in Spain that it was “just a joke.”
A terror alert was triggered and two fighter jets were scrambled to escort an easyJet flight from Gatwick to Menorca where 20-year-old Aditya Verma was travelling with friends after they had finished their A-levels in July 2022.
Mr Verma was escorted off the aircraft upon landing and a security search was launched.
The message Mr Verma sent to friends with a selfie before departing Gatwick airport read: “On my way to blow up the plane (I’m a member of the Taliban),” the court was told.
The message was brought to the attention of UK security services after triggering an alarm within the WiFi server at Gatwick.
With the easyJet flight in the air and heading towards Menorca, Spanish authorities were alerted and two F-18 fighter jets were sent to flank the aircraft.
Appearing in the court in Madrid on Monday, Mr Verma said the message was “a joke in a private group setting”.
“It was just sent to my friends I was travelling with on the day,” he said.
Pushed on why a remark about the Taliban could be considered funny, Mr Verma said: “Since school, it’s been a joke because of my features… It was just to make people laugh.”
When asked what had gone through his mind when he saw the fighter jets flanking the plane, Mr Verma explained that “the Russia-Ukraine war was happening so I thought it was a military exercise related to [that] conflict”.
If he is found guilty, Spain’s public prosecutor is asking for a fine of €22,500 (£19,300).
He also faces a bill of €95,000 (£81,400) to compensate the Spanish defence ministry for the cost of scrambling its jets.
Mr Verma, who was 18 at the time, was kept under arrest and questioned by Spanish police for two days before being released on bail.
Back on British soil, he was questioned by MI5 and MI6 before returning home to Orpington, south London.
Mr Verma’s defence lawyer told Spain’s National Court that her client’s comment had been a “bad joke” but one that was made in a private group that British authorities had intercepted in breach of his right to privacy.
“Aditya didn’t put his message on Facebook or advertise it. What he did was the equivalent of making a joke inside a car with friends,” she said.
“This boy was 18 years old and was beginning a holiday which was a reward for his school excellence. When he and his friends landed in Menorca, they realised they were in a nightmare,” the lawyer concluded.
(The Telegraph)
