A man accused of preparing acts of terrorism and claiming “all Muslims must die” has been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a court has heard.
Richard Smith, 28, is charged with engaging in preparations “with the intention of committing acts of terrorism” between August 2018 and November 2019 at addresses in Aberdeen and elsewhere in Scotland.
He is accused of possessing and making explosive substances and powders and possessing a quantity of military-style clothing and weapons.
Smith is charged with conducting online research into the manufacture of explosive substances, improvised detonators and improvised explosive devices.
It is also alleged he created and possessed texts, videos and guides relating to matters such as paramilitary survival and resistance, combat techniques and “advancing anti-Muslim, neo Nazi and other racist causes”.
He is further accused of collecting or recording information “of a kind likely to be useful to someone committing or preparing an act of terrorism”, relating to matters such as the manufacture and use of firearms and other weaponry and the practice of guerrilla warfare.
One charge is contrary to the Terrorism Act 2000 and the other comes under the Terrorism Act 2006.
Smith, who denies all charges against him, is also accused of texting a relative stating that “all Muslims must die” and sending images associated with the Nazi party and messages containing “grossly offensive” language to another person.
He also faces a charge under the Poisons Act 1972 and one under the Explosive Substances Act 1883.
At a hearing at the High Court in Glasgow on Thursday, Ronnie Renucci QC, representing Smith, said his client was diagnosed with Asperger’s after the defence was given authority to have him examined by an expert.
He said: “I became concerned at his presentation and wondered whether or not he was on the autistic spectrum.
“A supplementary report is now required as to the impact of that diagnosis on Mr Smith’s behaviour and the relation to the charges that he faces and the amount of material that he had accumulated.”
Lord Matthews asked: “As far as Asperger’s is concerned is that likely to give rise of a question of fitness for trial?”
Mr Renucci replied: “I’m not anticipating that.”
Smith did not attend the hearing in person.
The case was continued to a further hearing on August 13.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here