Teenager posted IS videos online to 'join trend'

Leo Walby, 19, was jailed at the Old Bailey for posting Islamic State videos online

A teenage Muslim convert who posted Islamic State videos online because he "wanted to join the trend" has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

Leo Walby, 19, from Swanley, Kent, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey last month to six charges of disseminating a terrorist publication between 10 July and 20 August last year.

He also admitted to failing to comply with a notice issued under the Regulatory of Investigatory Powers Act by not providing a password to a cloud-based storage device.

Walby had posted the material on Telegram and on TikTok - where he had more than 1,500 followers and had accumulated more than 10,000 likes, the court heard.

One video included footage of IS fighters in combat scenes and a western soldier killed by an explosion, together with subtitles describing the benefits of martyrdom.

Another propaganda video showed a speaker in a chair describing executions and beheadings as being "normal".

He also posted a speech from Abdullah Yusuf Azaam who the court heard "is known as the father of global jihad" with links to Osama bin Laden.

Walby had also sought donations to support jihad and to send to camps where IS members were being held.

From 20 August the defendant had used the IS flag as his logo on the channel, the court heard.

'Sucked into extremism'

Walby was subject to a referral to the government's counter-terrorism Prevent programme in 2017 which was closed without any engagement with the family.

There was also some information to suggest Walby had a history of mild autism.

Prosecutor Frederick Hookway said that Walby had accepted putting the relevant posts on TikTok and Telegram.

"He had created these accounts because he saw others doing it, and wanted to join the trend."

In mitigation James Hasslacher said that Walby had converted to Islam in 2023 after a period of youth offending.

Walby had endured a "bad childhood" and "found succour in Islam and found himself descending into the madness of what he was posting," said Mr Hasslacher.

He "deeply regretted his actions," the court heard.

Sentencing Walby on Friday, Judge Anthony Leonard KC said his refusal to reveal his password to police showed a "complete disregard for the rule of law and causes me concern about what you did not want the police to find in your telephone".

He added the defendant's posts were "intelligently and carefully planned" after he was "sucked into extremism".

The judge said that Walby had used social media platforms to gain a wider audience and had continued to use them despite being banned.

Walby had also used pseudnoyms to disseminate a "significant amount" of terrorist publications, Judge Leonard said.

Walby was sentenced to three and a half years for the six dissemination charges with an extended licence period of 12 months.

He must serve a consecutive sentence of one year for failing to comply with a notice.

Additional reporting by PA Media.