An individual from the village of Banks in Lancashire has appeared in court following accusations of murdering three girls in Southport for terrorist-related actions. Axel Rudakubana, 18, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court through a videolink from Belmarsh Prison. He is charged with producing the poisonous natural substance ricin, possessing an Al-Qaeda training guide, and having a PDF file for carrying out terrorism. These are added to the murder charges he is already facing for the deaths of Alice da Silva Aguiar, Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Bebe King, aged nine, seven, and six respectively in July.
A guard who was with Mr Rudakubana in prison alongside him stated that he chose not to speak throughout the hearing even after being requested for his name. Stan Reiz KC, the defence lawyer for Mr Rudakubana, admitted that he remained silent at past hearings, adding that “for reasons of his own he has chosen not to answer the question.” Judiciary Paul Goldspring, the Chief Magistrate, remanded Mr Rudakubana in custody on his new charges, which took less than ten minutes. The case was adjourned until 13 November at Liverpool Crown Court for a preliminary hearing.
The PDF file, which was discovered during a police investigation, was not necessarily an Al-Qaeda document but instead was a military study of content prepared by the Islamist terrorist organization. The allegations against Mr Rudakubana include producing a biological toxin under Section 1 of the Biological Weapons Act 1974 and having a type of PDF document that is likely helpful to somebody intending to or preparing a terrorist act as defined by Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000. There were ten allegations of attempted murder against Mr Rudakubana, of which eight were for suspected assaults on minors who by legal means cannot be called by their titles. The final two allegations were for assaults on one adult, Leanne Lucas, a yoga teacher, and another unidentified adult, John Hayes.
While in court, Mr Rudakubana held his upper body to his mouth and nose using his hoodie and did not speak
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