A FORMER medical student whose dream is to become a doctor has walked free from court after being cleared of two terrorism charges.
Yousif Badri, 29, was found not guilty of downloading extremist magazines, books and videos which would be useful to a person committing an act of terrorism and intending to commit acts of terrorism.
It was claimed that Mr Badri had committed the offences while he was a student at Aberdeen University studying to be a doctor.
At the High Court in Glasgow trial judge Lord Turnbull told Mr Badri: "The verdict returned by the jury means that you are free to leave the dock. The court would like to wish you well in your continued medical career."
Minutes later Lord Turnbull told the jury that he "wholeheartedly agreed" with the verdicts they had returned.
Outside court Mr Badri said: "I'm very happy and I hope to continue my medical career. I've been in limbo for the last two years."
Prosecutors alleged that Mr Badri had amassing a collection of Al Qaeda material in order to become a terrorist.
However the jury also heard that Mr Badri had also downloaded hundreds of thousands of articles and books which were moderate.
In evidence Mr Badri, who has had a long-running interest in Islamic politics, history and religion, said that he had looked at this propaganda material because he was disgusted with the way terrorists used verses from the Koran to justify their acts of terror.
He told the jury of 10 women and five men that Islamic State was "like a Mafia organisation or a criminal gang," and accused its leaders of "hijacking" Muslim history by naming their regiments after respected figures and using a flag similar to a traditional one.
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