Mr Gul appealed against a dismissal of his appeal against his conviction for dissemination of terrorist publications contrary to section 2 of the 2006 Act. The Court was now asked as to the meaning of ‘terrorism’ in section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Held: The appeal failed. The word ‘terrorism’ on the 2000 Act had been given a wide meaning and included acts by insurgents against the armed forces of a state anywhere in the world in the context of a non-international armed conflict. The Act defined three elements to make up the act of terrorism: 1) the use or threat of action, within or outside the United Kingdom, consisting of serious violence to individuals, serious damage to property or serious risk to public safety or health, which (2) was designed to influence the United Kingdom Government or any other government or inter-governmental organisation, or intimidate the public, and (3) was made for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, racial or ideological cause.
There is no internationally accepted norm as to what constitutes terrorism, and none to displace the wide meaning given to it by parliament.
Lord Neuberger, President, Lady Hale, Deputy President , Lord Hope, Lord Mance, Lord Judge, Lord Kerr, Lord Reed
[2013] 3 WLR 1207, [2013] UKSC 64, [2014] 1 All ER 463, [2013] WLR(D) 402, [2014] Crim LR 315, [2014] 1 Cr App R 14, UKSC 2012/0124
Bailii, WLRD, Bailii Summary, SC Summary, SC
Terrorism Act 2000 1 117, Terrorism Act 2006 2
England and Wales
Citing:
Appeal from – Gul (M), Regina v CACD 22-Feb-2012
The defendant appealed against his conviction under the 2006 Act for disseminating terrorist publications. He had uploaded to the internet videos showing attacks ofn coalition forces on soldiers of the coalition. He said that his were not acts . .
Cited – Regina v F CACD 16-Feb-2007
The defendant was charged with offences for having been in possession of a document or record containing information of a kind ‘likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism’. It was thought he was associated with a . .
Cited – Al-Sirri v Secretary of State for The Home Department SC 21-Nov-2012
The appellants had been refused refugee status on the ground that they were suspected of having been guilty of terrorist acts. They said that the definition of terrorism applied within the UK was wider than that in the Convention which contained the . .
Cited by:
Cited – Dart and Others v Regina CACD 31-Oct-2014
The defendants had been convicted on guilty pleas of offences under the 2006 Act. Dart had been sentenced to a six year term and a five year extended sentence. Other received shorter and longer sentences as appropriate. They now applied for leave to . .
Cited – Belhaj and Another v Straw and Others SC 17-Jan-2017
The claimant alleged complicity by the defendant, (now former) Foreign Secretary, in his mistreatment by the US while held in Libya. He also alleged involvement in his unlawful abduction and removal to Libya, from which had had fled for political . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Crime
Leading Case
Updated: 02 November 2021; Ref: scu.516925