A pensioner has admitted “glorifying” terrorism from his Edinburgh flat during a string of rants on his Twitter feed.
Firoz Madhani took to the social media platform to incite acts of terror and violence.
Madhani appeared at the city’s sheriff court on Monday and pled guilty to a charge under the Terrorism Act 2006.
The court heard how the 67-year-old admitted a number of posts to Twitter made on September 21 2019 from his home and elsewhere.
The charge admitted “glorifying acts of terrorism acts committed by others, encouraging acts of violence, and inciting violence by and against governments”.
The charge continued Madhani’s posts had the intention to be a “direct or indirect encouragement or other inducement to the commissions, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism” or that his actions were “reckless” as to whether that was the effect.
The offence was aggravated by religious prejudice.
Madhani, a first offender, had his not guilty plea to a second allegation accepted by the Crown. That charge had accused Madhani of expressing an opinion or belief supportive of a prescribed organisation, namely Hezbollah, on social media from his flat on September 2 2019.
Lebanon-based Hezbollah is a banned terrorist organisations under UK law,
Sheriff Daniel Kelly deferred sentence on Madhani, from the city’s Dalry area, until November for reports.
