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British man faces 100k fine for Spanish plane bomb hoax
The then-teenager joked about blowing up a flight from the UK to Menorca
Aditya Verma, a British citizen, has this week gone on trial in Spain for allegedly making a joke about blowing up a flight on social media platform Snapchat.
In July 2022, prior to boarding an easyJet flight to Menorca with friends, Mr Verma posted a message reading: "On my way to blow up the plane (I'm a member of the Taliban)," which sparked massive concerns at the time.
The University student appeared in a Madrid court on Monday January 22 to address the charges, claiming that his intentions were not to cause alarm or harm. He maintained that the statement was merely a thoughtless joke and not meant to be taken seriously.
Gatwick security services intercepted Mr Verma's post and quickly alerted their Spanish counterparts, who took immediate action. Two Spanish F-18 fighter jets were deployed to escort the easyJet plane, with one jet following it until it landed safely in Menorca.
The 18-year-old was arrested as soon as the flight touched down and was held in custody for two days before being released on bail. Back in the UK, he was subjected to further scrutiny by Britain's intelligence agencies, MI5 and MI6.
After his arrest, terrorism experts examined the suspect’s mobile phone and discovered that he had browsed information regarding conflicts between Pakistan and India, as well as the possibility of an Islamic State attack in the region. However, they failed to uncover any significant evidence connecting him to extremist ideologies or jihadist activity.
The economics student told the courts this week that the bomb threat was simply "a joke in a private group setting" sent to his travelling companions. When questioned further about the purpose of the message, he said: "Since school, it's been a joke because of my features... It was just to make people laugh."
However, in a world where terrorism still poses a real threat, Mr Verma's seemingly harmless comments could see him fined 22,500 euros, although he is not facing a prison term. The Spanish Ministry of Defence is also demanding expenses of 95,000 euros for scrambling the two Air Force jets.
The Briton's trial is set to conclude in the next few days.
In other news: Mid-air brawl forces UK flight to Spain to divert
Image: Guardia Civil
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