A British former chess prodigy has admitted in court that he told his friends before flying to Spain: ‘On our way to blow up the plane. I am a member of the Taliban.’
But Aditya Verma today, while on trial, insisted he was joking with his friends in a private Snapchat group before being taken off the plane.
The 20-year-old student said he had ‘no intention’ of mobilizing the two Spanish fighter jets sent to escort the packed easyJet plane carrying him and 140 other holidaymakers as it approached Menorca, along with police and firefighters on the ground.
Indian-born Aditya was 18 when he was arrested after landing on the island on July 3, 2022, for a post-A-level exam holiday after completing St Olave’s Grammar School in Orpington, Kent.
He told the Audiencia Nacional court in Madrid: ‘I was called a Taliban at school because of my facial features and I always joked about it and I know that the Taliban is considered a terrorist group.
Aditya Verma, a British former chess prodigy, has admitted in court that he told his friends before flying to Spain: ‘On our way to blow up the plane. I am a member of the Taliban
Aditya Verma today insisted in court (pictured) while on trial that he was joking with his friends in a private Snapchat group
Verma first appeared in court on July 5, 2022 in a closed session
Spanish F-18 fighter jet, seen through plane window, escorts an Easyjet flight en route from London to the Spanish holiday island of Menorca, following a hoax bomb threat by Verma on July 3, 2022
“But I didn’t think the people on the flight would be scared because it was sent to a closed group of friends and wasn’t intended for them.”
Aditya, who represented England at several international chess tournaments and once met legendary player Gary Kasparov, was today summoned to stand trial.
This happened after he was charged with a public order offense following a lengthy closed-door investigation.
Armed officers removed Aditya from the easyJet plane in handcuffs when it landed on the island in 2022. He spent two nights in police custody before appearing in court in Mahon.
He was released on £8,600 bail and told he was free to leave Spain but would still be investigated by the Audiencia Nacional.
Last week it emerged that Spanish prosecutors wanted him to pay €94,782.47 (£81,251) for the costs of assembling a Eurofighter military plane and a fine of €22,500 (£19,288) if found guilty found.
Speaking from the dock through an interpreter, Aditya agreed to be questioned by prosecutor Pedro Rubira and his lawyer.
He admitted sending a photo with his ‘bomb joke’ and Taliban commentary from a check-in desk at Gatwick Airport, which experts who analyzed his phone told the court at 9.47am on the day of the attack in a Snapchat group was shared with six other users. his arrest and showed him wearing a hat and sunglasses.
Aditya, who is currently studying economics at Bath University, admitted during cross-examination: ‘In the message I sent with the photo before we boarded, I said, ‘On our way to blow up the plane. I am a member of the Taliban.
“It was a private group joke, sent to friends I had known for eight, nine, 10 years and was messing around with that day.”
When asked by his lawyer Margarita Quintana what he thought when he saw two military aircraft near his Easyjet plane, although the indictment in the preliminary investigation mentioned only one aircraft, Aditya replied: ‘Just before that, the war between Ukraine and Russia took place took place and I thought it was a military exercise related to that conflict.
“The pilot said the jets were sent because he accidentally sent out a distress signal due to a communications error and the problem was corrected.
Last week it emerged that Spanish prosecutors wanted Aditya to pay €94,782.47 (£81,251) for the costs of assembling a Eurofighter military aircraft and a fine of €22,500 (£19,288) if found guilty
Aditya, who represented England at several international chess tournaments and once met legendary player Gary Kasparov, was today summoned to stand trial
The chess prodigy (pictured) has won national championships and even finished fourth at the World Youth Championships
‘Me and my friends were detained upon landing and put in a room for a few hours. Then I was told I was being arrested and taken to a police station.”
The court heard that the alarm that led to the mobilization of the Spanish fighter jets came from the British secret services.
It has not been made clear how they obtained the information, although a friend of Aditya said the information – including the photo – could have come from the Gatwick Airport WiFi servers that one of the friends in the Snapchat group was using.
One of the three analysts who gave evidence, who was not named and referred to only by a reference number, said they had not detected any links to terrorist groups on Aditya’s phone.
He suggested that one of the seven members of the Snapchat group could have made the ‘bomb joke’ and the photo public by sharing it with others.
But Aditya’s friend, who was on the same flight to Menorca and gave his name in court as Akash Raf, insisted: “If anyone had taken a screenshot or shared the photo with anyone outside the group, we would all have been messaged received on our website. phones and we haven’t received anything.’
He added, “I have known Aditya for years. It was just a lighthearted joke among a group of friends. I know he is not Taliban.”
The prosecutor revealed in his closing speech at the end of the 90-minute trial that the investigation into the suspect’s ‘hoax’ concluded that he was not a ‘dangerous terrorist activist’.
But he alleged that Aditya, whose parents Anand and Dipti Prasad accompanied him to the court, was guilty of an act of ‘simulation’ which had become public and created danger and would have led to people panicking if he words he used at a public meeting. street.
He said it was up to the court to decide whether the suspect’s “bad joke” had become public legally or illegally.
The British lawyer said in her emotionally charged closing speech that Aditya’s comments in a ‘private group’ had become public without any judicial authorization and that if anyone should be held responsible for the costs of the Spanish response, it should be the British authorities for ‘violation of the law’. his right to privacy.’
She added, “Aditya neither put his post on Facebook nor advertised it. What he did was the equivalent of joking in a car with friends.
The eastJet aircraft will be seen off the tarmac in 2022
‘Who has the authority to intervene in a prank? If we as individuals cannot enjoy freedom of expression and the right to privacy, what are we left with?
‘This is not a criminal offence. There was no malicious intent. This boy was 18 years old and embarking on a holiday that was a reward for his excellent school performance. When he and his friends landed in Menorca, they realized they were in a nightmare.’
Aditya was given the opportunity to make a final speech before Judge Jose Manuel Fernandez-Prieto retired to consider his verdict, which he will announce in writing at an unspecified future date: ‘There was never any intention to cause harm or distress or public mobilization services.
“It wasn’t a pre-planned message. I just wanted to go to Spain with my friends to enjoy the nice weather and experience Spanish football and nightlife.’
Verma told Mail Online exclusively while back home in Orpington with his parents Anand and Dipti Prasad: ‘It was a moment of madness that I regret and I am so sorry for the trouble I caused. It was a joke and I didn’t mean anything by it.
‘I’m sorry I ruined my friends’ holiday but it was all just a joke and I didn’t mean to scare anyone on the plane if they were scared of what had happened.
“I sent the Snapchat message to my friends as we boarded the plane. It was a joke because we had said who would be stopped and searched by security.
‘The message read: ‘I’m going to blow up this plane. I’m a Taliban,” and now I wish I hadn’t sent it.
“It was a stupid thing to do, but I figured because it was a private Snapchat, only my friends would see it.”