The men were said to have a “passion for guns” and their backpacks contained
numerous gun manuals written in English, Arabic and German.
Other articles included “39 ways to support jihad” by Anwar al-Awlaki, one of
the former leaders of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular who was killed in a
drone attacks last year.
Another article was entitled “The Ultimate Mowing Machine” and described how
blades could be fixed to a truck to cut down pedestrians.
Emde had “vast quantities of Jihad and terrorism booklets and pamphlets” an
earlier hearing was told and Baum had “similar but fewer articles.”
Both men are Islamic converts. Emde converted in 2003 and Baum two to three
years ago.
Emde was the moderator of a website in Germany which opposed the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan.
He was said to have an “interest in terrorism” but claims he did not download
the material to distribute it or for the purposes of terrorism.
Timothy Green, for Emde, said the material was “freely available” on
the internet and was thought not to be illegal in Germany.
At their preliminary hearing, the men refused to stand up to face the charges.
Speaking through an interpreter Baum said: “To stand up would be an act
of worship which is forbidden in Islam.”
They pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey on Thursday to having material which
could be of use to someone preparing an act of terrorism.
They were remanded in custody to be sentenced on Monday.
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