Student on trial after joking he was a ‘Taliban bomber’

A BRITISH man who told his Snapchat friends that he was a “Taliban” terrorist and about to blow up the plane he was boarding has told his trial in Spain it was ‘just a joke’.

A terrorist alert was triggered and two fighter jets were scrambled to escort an easyjet flight from Gatwick to Menorca where 20-year-old Aditya Verma was travelling with friends after they had finished their A-levels in July 2022.

Mr Verma was escorted off the aircraft upon landing and a security search was launched.

The message Mr Verma sent to friends with a selfie before departing Gatwick airport read: “On my way to blow up the plane (I’m a member of the Taliban),” the court was told.

The message was brought to the attention of UK security services after triggering an alarm within the Wifi server at Gatwick.

With the easyjet flight in the air and heading towards Menorca, Spanish authorities were alerted and two F-18 fighter jets were sent to flank the aircraft.

Appearing in the court in Madrid yesteray, Mr Verma said the message was “a joke in a private group setting”.

“It was just sent to my friends I was travelling with on the day,” he said.

Pushed on why a remark about the Taliban could be considered funny, Mr Verma said: “Since school, it’s been a joke because of my features... It was just to make people laugh.”

When asked what had gone through his mind when he saw the fighter jets flanking the plane, Mr Verma explained that “the Russia-ukraine war was happening so I thought it was a military exercise related to [that] conflict”.

Mr Verma has been charged with public disorder.

If he is found guilty, Spain’s public prosecutor is asking for a fine of €22,500 (£19,300).

He also faces a bill of €95,000 (£81,400) to compensate the Spanish defence ministry for the cost of scrambling its jets.