Terror trial: Trio deny helping teen travel to Syria
- Published
Kaleem Brekke from Grangetown in Cardiff is one of the three men charged
Three men have gone on trial at London's Old Bailey charged with helping a Cardiff teenager travel to Syria to fight with Islamic extremists.
Aseel Muthana, 19, joined so-called Islamic State terrorists, including his brother Nasser, in February 2014.
Kristen Brekke, 20, from Cardiff, Forhad Rahman, from Cirencester, and Adeel Ulhaq, from Nottinghamshire, allegedly helped Mr Muthana.
They deny helping in the preparation of an act of terrorism.
The jury has been told that during the course of the trial they would be shown a now infamous IS propaganda video - entitled "There is No Life Without Jihad".
Among those on camera is Nasser Muthana from Butetown in Cardiff.
But, the prosecution said, it was Muthana's younger brother, Aseel, who was central to the case.
Aseel Muthana travelled to Syria in 2014
The men in the dock are accused of helping Aseel Muthana to leave the country to join his brother fighting as a Jihadi terrorist in Syria.
Prosecuting counsel Annabel Darlow QC told the court that all three defendants shared, with each other and Aseel Muthana, the same radical Islamic ideology.
She said Mr Brekke helped Aseel Muthana obtain a new passport as his had been confiscated by his parents after his brother went to Syria.
He also bought and stored combat clothing for him at his Grangetown home, it was alleged.
Mr Rahman, 21, paid for his flight, and Mr Ulhaq, 21, provided him with tactical advice on equipment he would need.
That, said Ms Darlow, amounted to helping with the preparation of a terrorist act.
Mr Brekke and Aseel Muthana became friends after working together at a cafe in Grangetown
The court heard that on 21 February 2014, Aseel Muthana left Cardiff on a coach to Gatwick and then took a flight to Larnaca in Cyprus.
From there he travelled through Turkey to Syria. He has not returned.
The jury was told that most of the interaction between Aseel Muthana, Mr Rahman and Mr Ulhaq was via online chat, and that Mr Brekke was a friend of Mr Muthana.
The pair first met while working in the same cafe, Ice Cream Passion in Grangetown.
The trial is expected to last about a month.