British chess prodigy, 20, is FIRED after joking with friends that he would 'blow up easyJet flight', sparking jet drama

World

A British former chess prodigy who told friends he was a Taliban and was going to blow up a holiday plane has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

University student Aditya Verma, 20, admitted telling his friends: “On our way to blow up the plane. I am a member of the Taliban” during his one-day trial Madrid on Monday.

University student Aditya Verma, 20, was cleared of any wrongdoing by a court in Madrid this weekCredit: Solarpix

The former British chess prodigy admitted to joking about blowing up the plane he and his friends were on to Mallorca in July 2022Credit: Solarpix

Indian-born Additya was immediately arrested after his flight landed on the Spanish islandCredit: Solarpix

But he insisted he was joking with them in private Snapchat group and had “no intention” to mobilize the two Spanish fighter jets sent to accompany the packed ones easyJet aircraft in July 2022.

The plane – full of 140 other holidaymakers – was flanked by the jets prior to its descent when police and firefighters were mobilized to the scene.

So armed officers pulled Aditya out of the easyJet plane in handcuffs after it landed on the island and he spent two nights in police custody before appearing in court in Mahon.

Aditya sent the message in a group which he shared with six friends, along with a picture of him wearing sunglasses and a hat.

The Spanish The response was in response to a warning from British authorities after they picked up Aditya's message while he was still at Gatwick airport.

Indian-born Aditya, who was 18 at the time, had flown to the island on July 3, 2022 for a post A level exam holiday.

He was eventually charged with a public order offence.

Spanish prosecutors said this on Monday they wanted him to pay €94,782 (£81,251) towards the cost of assembling a Eurofighter military jet and a fine of €22,500 (£19,288) if found guilty.

But Judge Jose Manuel Fernandez-Prieto today said his actions did not constitute a crime after handing down his sentence just three days after the end of the speedy trial at the centralized Audiencia Nacional court.

He said of the British youth's actions: “There is no intention to provoke the mobilization of a military aircraft or a police or other emergency service.”

He added: “It cannot be ignored that the message and accompanying photo were not sent to any official organization, nor published in a manner that would inevitably lead to the corresponding mobilization of the relevant police, emergency or rescue services.

“On the contrary, they were shared in a strictly private environment, between the suspect and the friends he was flying with, to which only they had access.

“The suspect could not even remotely assume (as he expressly stated during the trial) that the prank he played on his friends could be intercepted or traced by the British services, nor by third parties other than his friends who received message.”

British security services are said to have picked up the message via Gatwick Airport's public WiFi service, although there was no confirmation during the trial.

Aditya admitted that one of his friends might have been using the airport Wi-Fi.

A friend who gave evidence on his behalf denied a prosecutor's suggestion that any of them could have shared the “Taliban bomb joke” with others outside their Snapchat group and that it could have been picked up that way.

At the time of his arrest, Aditya had just finished St Olave's Grammar School in Orpington, Knows.

He recently outlined plans to work in the financial sector and is now studying economics Bath University.

Aditya is also represented England at several international chess tournaments and once met legendary player Gary Kasparov.

He said at his trial that the friends in his Snapchat group were people he had known and trusted for a decade.

He told the court: “I was called a Taliban at school because of my facial features and I always joked about it and I know that the Taliban is considered a terrorist group.

“But I didn't think the people on the flight would be scared because it was sent to a closed group of friends and not intended for them.”

When asked what he thought when he saw the two fighter jets next to his flight, Aditya said, “Just before then, the war between Ukraine and Russia took place.

'I thought it was a military exercise related to that conflict.

“The pilot said the jets were sent because he accidentally sent a distress signal due to a communications error and the problem was resolved.

“Me and my friends were detained when we landed and put in a room for a few hours. Then I was told I was being arrested and taken to a police station.”

Public prosecutor Pedro Rubira revealed in his closing speech at the end of the 90-minute trial that the investigation into the suspect's 'hoax' concluded that he was not a “dangerous terrorist activist”.

But he alleged that Aditya had engaged in an 'act of simulation' which had become public and would have caused danger and led to people panicking if he had uttered the words he used on public streets.

In an emotionally charged closing address, Aditya's lawyer Margarita Quintana said his comments in a “private group” had become public without any judicial permission.

She then slammed British authorities for “violating his right to privacy,” saying if anyone should be held responsible for the costs of the Spanish response, it should be them.

“Aditya neither put his post on Facebook nor advertised it,” Quintana added. “What he did was the equivalent of joking in a car with friends.

“Who has the authority to intervene in a prank! If we as individuals cannot enjoy freedom of expression and the right to privacy, what are we left with?

“This is not a criminal offense. There was no malicious intent.

“This boy was 18 years old and embarking on a holiday that was a reward for his excellent school performance. When he and his friends landed in Menorca, they realized they were in a nightmare.”

In his final address to the court, Aditya said: “There was never any intention to cause harm or distress to the publication or to mobilize public services.

“It was not a pre-planned message. I just wanted to go to Spain with my friends to enjoy the nice weather and experience Spanish football and nightlife.”

Judge Jose Manuel Fernandez-Prieto will announce his verdict in writing at an unspecified future date.

In his acquittal, the judge said: “How the British services became aware of the photo and the message is something that is not known.

“But this does not mean that the suspect intended to mobilize the indicated services.”

Judge Fernandez-Prieto then said there was no evidence to support the insinuations made during the trial that one of Aditya's friends had revealed the photo and message to outsiders of the group.

“The public dissemination of the message and photo by another person in the group would constitute a crime committed by that person and never by the suspect,” he added.

Spain's public prosecutor's office has been told it has 10 days to appeal if it wishes. Well-placed sources said this was unlikely.

There was no immediate response to the verdict from Aditya, who is now believed to be back in Britain.

His parents Anand and Dipti Prasad, who accompanied him to the court, said they needed time to process the news before making a statement.