A ‘violent’ pro-Palestine activist wrote that he wanted to ‘establish Islamic State in Britain’ and posted instructional videos online about how to use grenades to kill Israeli soldiers, a court heard.
Feras Al-Jayoosi, 38, is on trial at Winchester Crown Court this week accused of three counts of terrorism relating to posts on X, then known as Twitter, in 2022.
He used an account with the handle ‘Jihad4Palestine’ to share ‘violent Islamic ideology’, it was heard, including images of leaders associated with the 9/11 attacks.
Al-Jayoosi also told police that he was ‘on the fence’ about al-Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden during an interview.
He denies all three counts of disseminating terrorist publications.
Described in court as an ‘adherent of violent Islamic ideology’, Al-Jayoosi commented on posts regarding the views on Jewish people of several world leaders – including Tony Blair and George Bush.
He also allegedly commented ‘Allah is the greatest’ on a post following the stabbing of Salman Rushdie in August 2022.
His bio read: ‘Arm the Palestinian resistance. Establish Islamic State in Britain. Allahu Akbar. Abolish the monarchy and Free Palestine. #Caliphate #NotMyKing.’
Months earlier, in March 2022, he was using an account with the handle ‘JoeBloggs22’.
His banner image included an emblem of the Al Aqsr martyrs, a group that has carried out numerous attacks on Israeli citizens ‘including suicide bombers’, and the Islamic Shahada.
One of the videos retweeted by Al-Jayoosi included a 75-minute long video offering instructions about how to use explosives, snipers and an RPG.
The second video, entitled ‘advanced knife fighting’, included the subject: ‘Oh beloved Palestinians and Muslims I hope you enjoy reading this article. Use these knife skill techniques to kill Israeli settlers and soldiers. Kill them all and send photos. May Allah Bless You.’
Al-Jayoosi was arrested at his home in Swindon, Wiltshire, in October 2022 and the court heard that a number of shirts were found with imagery of the Caucasus Emirate – a group seen as terrorists by the UK government.
He wore a pink shirt and clear glasses as the three-week trial got underway on Wednesday.
Al-Jayoosi suffers with ASD and OCD which ‘impact his day to day functions’ as he has ‘difficulties understanding people and reading facial expressions’.
He was given additional breaks during proceedings to give him time to decompress and process the ongoings in court.
Leo Seelig, prosecuting, said: ‘This case concerns allegations of disseminating terrorist publications. We are concerned with July 2022 and the part before and after.
‘In general terms a terrorist publication means something that is likely to be understood as an encouragement or useful for actions of terrorism. That includes anything that glorifies such acts.
‘In the context of this case it refers to the use or threat of action for the purpose of advancing religious, racial and ideological force against a person or property which is designed to influence the government or intimidate the public.
‘In a nutshell the defendant posted instructional videos about how to carry an RPG and about knife fighting techniques and tells his audience to use this video to help them kill Israeli settlers and soldiers.
‘His case is that he did not intend to encourage others and he wasn’t reckless. His case is that he would relieve his distress on social media. He is in fact an adherent of an uncompromising and violent Islamic ideology.
‘Neither of his conditions make someone want to destroy the Jews or kill Israeli soldiers and settlers. Neither conditions has any bearing on the principal issues in this case.’
Mr Seelig said that tweets included hashtags such as #mujahideen and #Iraqiresistance.
There were also mentions of Ansar al-Sunnah – a UK-prescribed terrorist group known for fighting US troops in Iraq.
The prosecutor continued: ‘Part of the video begins to show instructions with explosives and a sniper and how to use a rocket-propelled grenade.
‘It is obvious that he was giving a use for the device that he is talking about. Later in the video they say, “we will attack the US headquarters in the area of Al-Khadra”.
‘They also say, “Allah it is for you to kill the Jews and Christians”. Later we see a young child dressed in black with their face covered shown firing a weapon and practising throwing a grenade.
‘On July 30, Al-Jayoosi retweeted it and sent a message with it which contains a tutorial on how to use an RPG mortar.
‘He says kill the Israeli soldiers and settlers. The prosecution says it is a clear statement of what the defendant intended. The second was a YouTube video entitled “Advanced knife fighting techniques”.
‘He said, “Oh beloved Palestinians and Muslims I hope you enjoy reading this article. Use these knife skill techniques to kill Israeli settlers and soldiers. Kill them all and send photos. May Allah Bless You.”‘
Mr Seelig continued: ‘He said that the imagery of Osama Bin Laden was old and he changed it. He said that he did not support Al Qaeda and was on the fence about Bin Laden.
‘He said he changed the image as it did not sit well with him. He condemned the killing of innocent civilians.
‘He said he used the word Jihad as a reference to the literal meaning of struggle. He said he supported the right of Palestinians to resist illegal occupation.
‘He said he did not use the term Islamic State like ISIS but rather as a peaceful Islamic caliphate like that in Spain.
‘In September 2022, he tweeted the result of his Twitter poll in favour of an Islamic State in Britain but like that in Andalucia which stood for 1,000 years.
‘He was later asked about writing Fatwa on a post about Liz Truss. He said it should be commented upon by muftis or scholars.
‘He posted another prayer which included references to Ariel Sharon, David Ben Gurion, Tony Blair, George Bush and Tommy Robinson.
‘In his interview he said that he did not think these videos would be used for the purposes that he describes.
‘Both his sister and brother were trying to exercise some sensible influence over the defendant whenever he spoke about his inflammatory views.
‘On the day that author Salman Rushdie was stabbed in August 2022 the defendant posted articles reporting the attack and posted “Allah is the greatest and all praise be down to Allah”.’
The trial continues.
