Germans jailed for terror offences

Two Germans have been jailed for being in possession of al-Qa'ida bomb-making propaganda when they arrived at Dover.

Christian Emde, 28, and Robert Baum, 24, were arrested on 15 July last year and material was seized from a hard drive and laptop computer.

They pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey on Thursday to having material which could be of use to someone preparing an act of terrorism.

Emde, of Konrad Adenauer Strasse, Solingen, admitted four offences under the Terrorism Act.

He was jailed for a total of 16 months, less 193 days spent in custody.

He admitted having online copies of al Qaida's Inspire magazines which contained titles such as Destroying Buildings and Make A Bomb In The Kitchen Of Your Mom.

Judge Peter Rook said the material made "chilling reading".

Baum, of Peter-Rasspe Strasse, Solingen, admitted one charge under the same act of having an article entitled 39 Ways Of Participating Or Serving In Jihad.

He was jailed for 12 months after the prosecution said the document was at the lower end of extremist literature.

Both men will now be automatically deported from Britain.

Judge Rook ordered that the 2,968 euros (£2,467) the men had with them should go towards the prosecution costs.

Sarah Whitehouse, prosecuting, said tickets had been bought for the men to visit London and Birmingham by a man who had links with a suspected terrorist who had been excluded from the UK.

Both men had converted to the Islamic faith and had met at a mosque in their home town.

They told police they had been intending to go to Egypt to study but diverted to England because of the cost.

She said the material was available on the internet from US websites, and there had been no prosecutions in Germany for possessing it.

Unemployed Emde said he had been studying extremism for nearly two years and his hard drive contained topics such as beheading.

Timothy Green, for Emde, said: "Mr Emde is not a terrorist. He was not going to pass the documents to anyone.

"The offence was committed by accident when he made the unexpected trip to this country."

Jonathan Drury, for Baum, a warehouseman, said: "He is searching for his purpose in life. That is what led him to the study of Islam."

Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Warwick, head of the South East Counter Terrorism Unit, said: "The documents we found included full instructions on how to make home-made explosives and how to shield explosives from detection by scanners and sniffer dogs.

"We also found guidance on how to demolish buildings using explosives.

"Possessing these kinds of materials are serious offences and we will investigate anyone who breaks the law in this way and ensure they are brought to justice."

PA