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| British Teenager Sentenced in Plot to Kill Police on Anzac Day in Australia | British Teenager Sentenced in Plot to Kill Police on Anzac Day in Australia |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| LONDON — A 15-year-old believed to be the youngest person convicted of terrorism offenses in Britain was sentenced on Friday to at least five years in prison for plotting to behead police officers at an Australian military parade. | |
| The teenager, whose name was withheld because of his age, pleaded guilty at Manchester crown court in July to inciting terrorism overseas in the name of jihad. | The teenager, whose name was withheld because of his age, pleaded guilty at Manchester crown court in July to inciting terrorism overseas in the name of jihad. |
| Described as the “organizer and adviser,” the teenager, from Blackburn, in Lancashire, was convicted of plotting to kill police officers on Anzac Day, held every April 25 to commemorate the Battle of Gallipoli. This year was the centenary of the battle, in which many Australian and New Zealand soldiers lost their lives. | Described as the “organizer and adviser,” the teenager, from Blackburn, in Lancashire, was convicted of plotting to kill police officers on Anzac Day, held every April 25 to commemorate the Battle of Gallipoli. This year was the centenary of the battle, in which many Australian and New Zealand soldiers lost their lives. |
| The judge in the case, John Saunders, said at the sentencing that it was “chilling” that a defendant so young “could have become so radicalized that he was prepared to carry out this role intending and wishing that people should die.” | The judge in the case, John Saunders, said at the sentencing that it was “chilling” that a defendant so young “could have become so radicalized that he was prepared to carry out this role intending and wishing that people should die.” |
| The boy was technically sentenced to life and will not be released until he is considered by the authorities to no longer be dangerous, the judge said. | The boy was technically sentenced to life and will not be released until he is considered by the authorities to no longer be dangerous, the judge said. |
| The boy, then 14, sent thousands of online messages to extremists in Australia, and an Islamic State recruiter, Abu Khaled al-Cambodi, established contact between the boy and an Australian, Sevdet Besim, 18. | The boy, then 14, sent thousands of online messages to extremists in Australia, and an Islamic State recruiter, Abu Khaled al-Cambodi, established contact between the boy and an Australian, Sevdet Besim, 18. |
| Over nine days in March, they exchanged more than 3,000 encrypted messages, in which the British teenager suggested that Mr. Besim get his “first taste of beheading” by breaking into a house and attacking “a proper lonely person.” | Over nine days in March, they exchanged more than 3,000 encrypted messages, in which the British teenager suggested that Mr. Besim get his “first taste of beheading” by breaking into a house and attacking “a proper lonely person.” |
| On March 19, the teenager gave Mr. Besim three options: attack the police with a gun, a car or a knife. The prosecutor said that Mr. Besim chose a combination of a car and knife attack, and the British boy “advised him to buy a machete and sharpen it, run over a police officer and then decapitate him.” The attack was never carried out. | On March 19, the teenager gave Mr. Besim three options: attack the police with a gun, a car or a knife. The prosecutor said that Mr. Besim chose a combination of a car and knife attack, and the British boy “advised him to buy a machete and sharpen it, run over a police officer and then decapitate him.” The attack was never carried out. |
| The British teenager was arrested on March 25 after his school raised concerns about his behavior. | The British teenager was arrested on March 25 after his school raised concerns about his behavior. |
| At the sentencing hearing, the court was told that the teenager had been radicalized by an online jihadist community through his smartphone. He became something of an online jihadist celebrity, attracting 24,000 Twitter followers in just a few weeks. | At the sentencing hearing, the court was told that the teenager had been radicalized by an online jihadist community through his smartphone. He became something of an online jihadist celebrity, attracting 24,000 Twitter followers in just a few weeks. |
| “Had the authorities not intervened,” the judge said, the British teenager “would have continued to play his part hoping and intending that the outcome would be the deaths of a number of people.” | “Had the authorities not intervened,” the judge said, the British teenager “would have continued to play his part hoping and intending that the outcome would be the deaths of a number of people.” |