Twenty three year old jailed for terrorism after being arrested trying to flee the country

A Twenty three year old has been jailed for terrorism after being arrested as he tried to flee the country.

Florian Flegel was stopped at Stansted Airport as he was due to board an outbound flight to Cologne, Germany.

He was sentenced yesterday to three-and-a-half years in prison at Woolwich Crown Court.

Flegel, a German national, was arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences after sending videos to a friend of executions by the extremist group Daesh, also known as ISIS.

The court heard that on six occasions between July and September 2020, Flegel sent the Daesh propaganda videos to his friend over a phone messaging app.

In one conversation they spoke about how they might carry out a terror attack, and an execution video was then sent.

No evidence was found that Flegel had made or was making any specific plans to carry out an attack.

In a police interview, Flegel said the material on his phone had been downloaded from open source media sites and he didn’t realise it was illegal.

He was stopped at Standsted Airport on October 12 2020 by counter-terrorism officers and charged on November 18 2020.

Appearing Commander Richard Smith, who leads the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command (SO15), said: “The messages and content found on Flegel’s phone were clear evidence of a hate-filled islamist ideology that he endorsed.

“The videos he shared and the conversations about them showed that Flegel revelled in extreme terrorist violence.

“Content of this nature is extremely harmful to those who view it, and they compromise the safety of Londoners.

“We would urge anyone who comes across videos that depict or encourage terrorism to report it to police straight away.”

Extremist content can be reported online and anonymously via https://www.gov.uk/report-terrorism

It can also be reported via the iREPORTit app, created by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) in partnership with the national Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU).

The CTIRU, part of the Counter Terrorism Policing network, has national responsibility for the investigation of terrorist content online and works to have this material removed from hosting platforms.

Communities defeat terrorism, and information from the public is vital to counter terrorism investigations.

If you see or hear something unusual or suspicious and think someone may be engaging in terrorist activity, trust your instincts and act by reporting it in confidence at gov.uk/ACT or, in an emergency, dial 999.

Visit the ACT Early website at www.actearly.uk to find out how you can seek help and support for anyone who you suspect may be being radicalised.