A British man has appeared in court accused of being a platoon leader with Somali terrorist group Al Shabab.
Jermaine Grant, 43, was arrested at Heathrow Airport in 2024 after arriving on a flight from Kenya, and has been charged with offences under the Terrorism Act.
Prosecutors allege the London-born Mr Grant attended Al Shabab commando training camps, became a platoon leader and took part in a number of battles in Somalia.
Dressed in a yellow and green jumpsuit, he appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
Flanked by two police officers, Mr Grant spoke to confirm his name and date of birth, and said he had “no address”. No pleas were entered at the brief hearing.
Setting out the charges, prosecutor Carl Kelvin said: “Grant went to Al Shabab training camps, trained as a commando, became a platoon leader, took part in a number of battles and discharged firearms and took full part in fighting.”
District judge Nina Tempia remanded Mr Grant in custody and adjourned the case until April 16 at the same court while awaiting the Attorney General’s permission to prosecute.
Mr Grant was charged on Thursday with directing the activities of Al Shabab between December 31, 2007 and January 1, 2010.
He is charged over the same dates with two counts of possessing an AK-47 assault rifle during the battle of Karan and the battle of Mogadishu Stadium during the Somali civil war.
Mr Grant is also charged with three counts of attending an Al Shabab commando training camp in Kismayu, a port city in southern Somalia, between December 31, 2007 and January 1, 2009.
The charges followed an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) in London.
“These are serious charges and come as the result of a long-running investigation,” said Kris Wright, the acting commander of CTP London.
“This case shows we will always pursue anyone suspected of being involved in terrorist activity, no matter where in the world or how long ago it is alleged to have taken place.”
Frank Ferguson, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s special crime and counter terrorism division, said prosecutors “have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring this case to court and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings”.
Al Shabab, which means The Youth, is aligned with Al Qaeda and emerged from Somalia’s civil war of the 1990s. It has waged an insurgency against the Somali government since around 2006.
The group controls parts of central southern Somalia, where it collects taxes, and frequently conducts attacks in the region.
It has carried out deadly bombings and raids in Somalia and Kenya, including the 2019 Nairobi hotel complex siege, and several major attacks in Mogadishu.
