June 22, 2018
An Iranian seeking asylum in Britain has been jailed for 20 years after stockpiling an arsenal of weapons presumably to be used in an act of terrorism.
Ashkan Ebrahimi, 33, was found in possession of crossbows, swords, knives, bomb-making ingredients and air rifles at his apartment in West Yorkshire in the far north of England.
The father-of-one “stalked” police officers, a judge, a social worker and a lawyer after a 2014 domestic abuse investigation led to him becoming overwhelmed by his hatred for people in authority, the Bradford Crown Court was told.
The court heard during his trial how Ebrahimi, who entered Britain in 2009, turned his apartment into “the hub” of his hate campaign against those in authority whom he felt had wronged him.
The Halifax Courier re- ported Calderdale College had tipped police off after Ebrahimi showed an unusual interest in chemicals.
When his home was searched, he also had books and videos on how to produce a bomb, ball-bearings (often packed into bombs becasue they spread more destruction), handcuffs, listening devices and a bullet-proof vest.
Prosecutor Dafydd Enoch said: “He found out information about his targets, photographed their homes, followed them and made notes about them. Things were to escalate in a most serious way when his research began to extend to the subject of making bombs.”
The prosecutor said: “The defendant in this case is a very dangerous man who was not only thinking about hurting or killing people, but who was making real and focused preparations physically to action those thoughts. There are those who fantasize about extreme things in the privacy of their own bedroom, but this is not such a case, as you will see. It is lucky that he was stopped before there was an atrocity.”
His desire for revenge had been sparked by a domestic incident involving himself and his then-girlfriend, who is also the mother of his young child.
He had researched 38 people, the court was told, most of them police officers.
In a Facebook post, he had written: “Every single minute the hate is growing more and more…. I haaaaaaaate the police that’s all I know in my life.”
Ebrahimi was found guilty of stalking, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of explosives with intent to endanger life.
He represented himself, but refused to give evidence in his defense. The Huddersfield Daily Examiner reported he told the court: “I wish I could give you everything I have, all my evidence, so you could see the whole picture. Not possible for me under the circumstances.”
The judge gave him a 20-year sentence