A British-Indian student is currently on trial in Spain after being charged with public order offenses after sending a Snapchat message that joked about blowing up the plane he was traveling on with friends.
In July 2022, Aditya Verma was flying to the Spanish island of Menorca with friends on an EasyJet flight, but before leaving, he sent the following message: (Taliban),” the BBC reported.
Verma’s message was detected by British security authorities on Gatwick Airport’s Wi-Fi network and alerted to Spanish authorities while the EasyJet plane was in flight.
During the trial in a Madrid court, Verma, an economics student at the University of Bath, said she had no intention of causing pollution or distress to anyone.
The court was told that two Spanish F-18 fighter jets were scrambled when authorities received threatening messages. The BBC said a jet chased the plane until it landed on the island of Menorca, where an extensive search was carried out.
Verma, who was 18 at the time, was arrested and held in a police cell for two days before being released on bail, the court heard.
The student was then interrogated by British intelligence agencies MI5 and MI6 and sent home to Orpington, Kent.
During the trial, Verma said Monday that the messages were “joking in a private group setting.” “I just sent it to a friend who was traveling with me that day,” he said, according to the BBC.
When asked why he sent the message, Verma said, “Since my school days, it was a joke because of my characteristics… It was just to make people laugh.”
Mr Verma answered another question about when he saw Spanish fighter jets approach the side of his plane, believing it was a military exercise related to the Russo-Ukrainian war.
Police told the court that a search of Verma’s mobile phone revealed that she had been researching the conflict between India and Pakistan and possible attacks by the Islamic State group in the region. reported. However, officials could not find any link between Verma and jihadist extremism.
The boy has not been charged with terrorism or imprisonment, but could be fined 22,500 euros (Rs 2,035,000) if found guilty.
Spain’s Ministry of Defense has also requested costs of 95,000 euros (8,594,000 rupees).
The court told the BBC that a verdict in Mr Verma’s case is expected within the next few days.