Man on Trial Said 'I Don't Mind Dying' Before Attempted Trip To Join Isis, Court Told

A 22-year-old man accused of travelling from the UK to Somalia intending to join Isis told a friend he had no problem with dying, a jury has been told.

Mohamed Mohamoud is on trial at Winchester Crown Court, accused of preparing acts of terrorism between 1 October 2024 and 5 March 2025. Prosecutor Naomi Parsons told jurors that Mohamoud, who arrived in the UK in 2020 to join his mother and brother in Bristol, travelled to Somalia in January 2025 and returned to the UK on 3 March after failing to reach the group.

The court heard that in the weeks before his trip Mohamoud exchanged regular messages with a contact in the region identified as Abu Ladin, and made plans to meet and try to join the extremist group together.

Mohamoud messaged Ladin: "I did not manage to find someone to guide me yet to help me travel and join the mujahidin. What advice do you have for me? I am leaving and I do not have any plan."

Ladin cautioned him that routes were limited because of the conflict, advising him to speak directly to fighters and warning: "I swear, it is dangerous. You are my brother and I would advise you to stay there."

Mohamoud later wrote: "Today I do not find dying a problem." He also said he had not suffered serious hardship—"I am not someone who has suffered hardship, I have never even slept hungry one night"—and suggested he feared being punished if he abandoned his plan, warning that "abandoning jihad is a serious matter."

Mohamoud, who lives on Francombe Grove in Bristol and is from the Puntland region of northern Somalia, denies the charge. The trial is continuing.