Student 'wanted to be a bomber'

Mohammed Atif Siddique, from Alva in Clackmannanshire, has denied a total of five offences.

Fellow students at Glasgow Metropolitan College said he had shown them videos of beheadings and suicide bombers.

The High Court in Glasgow also heard claims on Friday that the 21-year-old had said Osama Bin Laden was his "god".

Fozia Begum told the court that Mr Siddique made the comment about the al-Qaeda leader while they were all students at the college in 2003.

'Chopped off'

The 23-year-old said Mr Siddique had also shown her and others footage of a beheading and of a man who had blown himself up.

She said: "He showed somebody who had their head chopped off.

"There were three men standing there and one guy on the floor. A guy walked up and cut his head off."

She described another video Siddique showed her, which revealed the face of a smiling man who had blown himself up.

Miss Begum said: "There was a dead guy smiling. He said he had a smile on his face because he had committed Jihad."

Donald Findlay QC, acting as defence for Mr Siddique, later accused the witness of lying, saying it would be "unthinkable" for a strict Muslim like Siddique to call anyone but Allah a god.

The court was also told that in her police interviews Miss Begum only mentioned the beheading tape, which Mr Findlay told the court had been shown on Sky TV.

Witness Khalil Akbar, 28, a trainee teacher from Luton, said he came to Scotland in May 2005 to visit various mosques.

He said he was approached by Mr Siddique in Glasgow's Central Mosque.

Mr Akbar told the court that Mr Siddique was looking for advice as his family was upset about his strict adherence to Islam, which resulted in him leaving home on one occasion.

The court had earlier heard from fellow classmate Francesca Demilta, who said Mr Siddique had told her of his desire to become a suicide bomber.

She also claimed to have overheard Mr Siddique say he wanted to bomb Glasgow, but did not take the "alarming" threat seriously.

Mr Siddique was arrested in a police operation in Alva on 13 April, 2006, and faces four charges under the Terrorism Act 2000.

Trial continues

He has been accused of possessing suspicious terrorism-related items including CDs and videos of weapons use, guerrilla tactics and bomb-making.

He has also been accused of collecting terrorist-related information, setting up websites showing how to make and use weapons and explosives, and circulating inflammatory terrorist publications.

A further charge of breach of the peace relates to claims that he showed students at Glasgow Metropolitan College images of suicide bombers and terrorist beheadings.

This charge also includes the allegation that he threatened to become a suicide bomber, and claimed to be a member of al-Qaeda.

The trial continues.

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