A financial analyst who was found with terrorist materials and bomb-making equipment has been jailed.
Asad Bhatti, 50, of Redhill, Surrey, was sentenced to eight years on Monday and given a further four year extended licence after it was found he posed a danger to the public in the future.
Bhatti was arrested and charged after a computer repair shop owner became suspicious of content on his laptop.
Mrs Justice McGowan called Bhatti an “isolated and compulsive individual”.
Sentencing Bhatti at the Old Bailey on Monday, the judge described his “deep-seated” hatred towards a group of Muslims that he identified as “The Hypocrites”.
Bhatti had criticised this group for not following his version of Islam, as well as other people based on their race and sexuality.
The judge said Bhatti’s recent diagnosis of autism did not reduce his culpability.
“Your condition explains how you behaved in the way you did but it does not explain or mitigate what you did.”
She went on to say he posed a “serious risk of harm in the future”.
Explosive device discovery
Bhatti was arrested and charged in January 2021 after files with concerning names were found on his computer.
Documents were later discovered suggesting he had an interest in explosives and making explosive devices.
A search of a storage container he rented revealed chemicals, chemistry equipment, electronic circuitry and an improvised explosive device.
Manuals on making explosives, shooting techniques and hand-to-hand combat were also found at the storage container in Smallfield, Surrey.
Bhatti’s first trial at the Old Bailey had to be halted after he was placed in an induced coma when he contracted Covid-19.
He had denied two counts of possessing explosives, one count of making explosives and two counts of possessing articles for terrorist purposes.
Giving evidence, he claimed he had the materials for lawful experimentation and out of curiosity.
At his second trial in March, a jury found him guilty of all the charges.
In mitigation, Edward Henry KC told the court that Bhatti was “sad” rather than “bad”, adding: “He wanted to reduce the world to pure reason, a reason of his own understanding.”
Source: BBC
