Teenager posted IS videos online to ‘join trend’

(BBC) A teenage Muslim convert who posted Islamic State videos online because he “wanted to join the trend” has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

Leo Walby, 19, from Swanley, Kent, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey last month to six charges of disseminating a terrorist publication between 10 July and 20 August last year.

He also admitted to failing to comply with a notice issued under the [Regulation] of Investigatory Powers Act by not providing a password to a cloud-based storage device.

Walby had posted the material on Telegram and on TikTok — where he had more than 1,500 followers and had accumulated more than 10,000 likes, the court heard.

One video included footage of IS fighters in combat scenes and a western soldier killed by an explosion, together with subtitles describing the benefits of martyrdom.

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