Terror accused ‘had pics of dead women’

A LAPTOP and phone found in the bedroom of a man on trial for terrorism offences had images of sexual activity with mutilated women in a folder named “dead girl pics”, a court has heard.

The devices are alleged to belong to Sam Imrie, who is on trial at the High Court in Edinburgh for posting statements on the social media platform Telegram suggesting he was going to carry out an attack on the Fife Islamic Centre.

The 24-year-old has also been accused of planning to stream live footage of “an incident”, and of taking, or permitting to be taken or made, indecent photographs of children.

Giving evidence yesterday, Robert Steer, 51, a cybercrime expert for the police, said the laptop and phone had 78 photos showing deceased women that he believed were “genuine”, some of which were taken at a morgue.

Jurors heard that 67 images of child exploitation were found on the accused’s phone. Robert said there were 17 photos classed as category A, the most severe.

Among other charges, Imrie is accused of being in possession of neo-Nazi, anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim material.

On the same laptop recovered from Imrie’s bedroom, there were folders named Anders Breivik and Brenton Tarrant, both convicted of terrorism offences.

On Thursday, the High Court in Edinburgh heard a recording of Imrie being interviewed by police in July 2019.

He told police he was a “white nationalist”. Asked what that meant, he replied: “It means I care about my race.”

The court earlier heard how the accused made derogatory remarks about minority groups on Telegram, a messaging app.

When asked about his visit to the Fife Islamic Centre, in Glenrothes, which he had threatened to burn down on Telegram, Imrie said: “It was a joke.”

He denies all nine charges against him, three of which come under the Terrorism Act. The trial, before Lord Mulholland, continues.