German ISIS supporter jailed after he’s found with terrorist propaganda on phone during airport stop

German ISIS supporter, 23, who shared execution videos and discussed ‘bombings and beheadings in football stadiums’ on WhatsApp and Telegram is jailed for three years

• German ISIS supporter Florian Flegel, 23, was found with terrorist propaganda on his phone as he attempted to board a plane at Stansted Airport on October 12
• Was jailed for three years at the Old Bailey after admitting six terrorism charges 
• Flegel had been staying with friends in London when he swapped videos of beheadings, crucifixions and attacks on police officers with German friend
• Their messages included ‘realistic lone-wolf attack aspirations’, court hears

By Jacob Thorburn For Mailonline

Published: 11:03 BST, 8 September 2021 | Updated: 11:04 BST, 8 September 2021

A German ISIS supporter who encouraged terrorism by sharing gruesome beheading videos has been jailed for three and a half years.

Florian Flegel, 23, was stopped at Stansted Airport as he was about to board a flight to Cologne and found with violent terrorist propaganda, including footage of beheadings, on his phone on October 12.

The German national had been staying with family friends in east London when he swapped 12,000 messages with a friend called Abdulla who lived in Ratingen in Germany on WhatsApp and Telegram. 

Jocelyn Ledward, prosecuting, said the pair discussed ‘driving tanks in Berlin, atom bombs and mass beheadings in a football stadium’.

Their messages also involved ‘realistic aspirations to carry out lone-wolf style attacks,’ she said.

The prosecutor said in sending those videos and documents Flegel intended to encourage and support terrorism.

He also expressed the opinion ‘that the law of valour is superior to secular law.’

Florian Flegel, 23, was jailed for three and a half years after he was found to be in possession of violent terrorist propaganda including executions, crucifixions and police officer attacks

The German national was accused of being an IS supporter and to have sent documents to support the terror group’s activities between August and September 2020. 

Flegel had sent brutal propaganda videos showing extreme terrorist violence to his friend on six occasions. 

In one conversation they spoke about how they might carry out a terror attack and an execution video was then sent.

Following Flegel’s arrest at Stansted police officers found the Shahada, known as the declaration of faith, as the phone background of his iPhone 8.

In police interview, he said the material on his phone had been downloaded from open source media sites and he did not realise it was illegal.

Jailing the German for 42 months Judge Andrew Lees said there was no doubt he held an ‘extremist Islamist mindset’.

Flegel was stopped at Stansted Airport (above) as he was about to board a flight to Cologne and found with violent terrorist propaganda, including footage of beheadings, on his phone

Flegel, from Ratingen, admitted six counts of dissemination of a terrorist publication and he was jailed for three years and eight months.

He will also be subject to a 10 year notification requirement under the Counter Terrorism Act.

Commander Richard Smith, who leads the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command (SO15), said: ‘The messages and content found on Flegel’s phone were clear evidence of a hate-filled islamist ideology that he endorsed. 

‘The videos he shared and the conversations about them showed that Flegel revelled in extreme terrorist violence.

‘Content of this nature is extremely harmful to those who view it, and they compromise the safety of Londoners. 

‘We would urge anyone who comes across videos that depict or encourage terrorism to report it to police straight away.’ 

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