Bradford man jailed for keeping terrorist documents
The court heard Sidelka had been arrested in November 2022 for an unrelated matter when he was 18 years old. When police searched his phone, they found a large quantity of neo-Nazi material, as well as guides on how to manufacture explosives and poisons. Propaganda material from the proscribed extreme far right terrorist groups Atomwaffen, Feuerkrieg Division and Terrorgram were also found in his cloud storage accounts.On 25 May 2023, Sidelka was arrested by officers from Counter Terrorism Policing North East.
'Subjected to torment'
Frida Hussain KC, defending, said Sidelka had moved to Bradford with his family from Slovakia. "He was subjected to torment by others which has led to him being isolated and turning to the internet," she said. "He spent a lot of time gaming and accessing this material, he had no social life."Between the school years of nine to eleven, Ms Hussain claimed Sidelka had been "set fire to, attacked and had his nose broken" by a group of boys. "He felt like an outsider and was paranoid to leave home," she added.A probation officer described Sidelka as immature and of low intelligence, with no real attachment to the mindset identified in the materials. "He does not present as a well-rehearsed, well-connected racist," Ms Wilson concluded.The court heard Sidelka had no connections to or memberships of terrorist organisations.He pleaded guilty to eight counts of possessing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.Sentencing the defendant, Judge Bayliss said: "You're a man who held racist, antisemitic, homophobic and neo-Nazi views. "You weren't just interested in the manufacture of firearms, you did it in the context of holding extreme right wing views."It is terrifying to think someone with your adherence to that ideology could contemplate having these in your possession."There must be an immediate custodial sentence."Sidelka will be subject to a Terrorism Notification Order for 10 years after he is released.
'Shocking and disturbing'
Det Ch Supt James Dunkerley, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said: "The shocking and disturbing racist material Sidelka downloaded, as well as his interest in extreme violence and manufacturing homemade firearms, show the threat he posed to the community."The efforts he made to disguise his true identity online, and to post opinions on social media which were not as extreme as those he held in private, indicate that he knew how unacceptable his views really were."He added that Sidelka was 18 at the time of the offences and young people were "particularly vulnerable" when it came to being influenced by harmful ideologies."I would urge people to act early and help us to stop young people being drawn into extremism," he said.
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