Southport attack: Murder suspect Axel Rudakubana appears in court on terror charges
Axel Rudakubana appeared in via video link from Belmarsh prison to face charges, including the production of the deadly poison ricin and possession of an Al Qaeda training manual.
The teenager charged with the murders of three young girls at a dance class in Southport stayed silent and refused to answer questions when he appeared in court on separate terror offences on Wednesday.
Axel Rudakubana has been charged with production of the biological toxin ricin and possessing terrorism information in the form of an Al Qaeda manual. Both were discovered following searches of his home in Banks, Lancashire, by police.
The 18-year-old appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court via videolink from HMP Belmarsh on Wednesday morning for a hearing lasting less than 10 minutes. He sat holding his sweater over the bottom half of his face. He did not respond when asked to confirm his name, and a security officer with him at the prison told the court he had chosen not to speak.
Stan Reiz KC, defending, said: "Mr Rudakubana has remained silent at previous hearings as well. For reasons of his own he has chosen not to answer the question." The barrister confirmed his client's identity and proceedings continued.
Addressing the defendant later in the hearing, the chief magistrate, district judge Paul Goldspring, asked whether the teenager would nod to signal his understanding but he did not react.
Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC applied for the new charges to be sent to Liverpool Crown Court to ‘link up’ with the other charges Rudakubana faces relating to the July Southport incident. She confirmed to the judge that the matters were ‘related’.
Rudakubana has already been charged with the murder of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Bebe King, 6, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, who were fatally stabbed during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Hart Street, Southport, on July 29. He is also charged with the attempted murder of eight other children, instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes, as well as possession of a knife.
A search of his home in Banks, near Southport, unearthed ricin and a PDF file entitled Military Studies In The Jihad Against The Tyrants, The Al Qaeda Training Manual.
In court on Wednesday, Judge Goldspring remanded Rudakubana in custody on the new terror charges and sent the case to Liverpool Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on November 13 . He said: "The prosecution will ask the judge to link up matters together."
A trial is expected to begin in January.