Cambridge University graduate pleads ‘not guilty’ to terrorism charge

The trial for Oliver Bel, 23, will be held in November

Bel's trial will be held in NovemberLinkedin

by Varsity News

This article is 5 years old

Friday July 3 2020, 4:31pm

Oliver Bel, 23, who graduated with a degree in Mathematics from Cambridge last summer, pleaded ‘not guilty’ in a plea hearing at Manchester Crown Court on Wednesday (01/07).

In April, Bel was charged with two offences. Wednesday’s indictment pertained only to one count which is Collecting Information contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

This section of the terrorism act concerns the possession of information and documents which may ‘be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism’.

Bel is accused of possessing a terrorism and bomb-making manual last November.

Bel, who is originally from Salford in Greater Manchester, was not required to attend a pre-trial preparation hearing on 12th June.

After first appearing at London’s Old Bailey on 24th April, where he confirmed his name and nationality, Bel was granted conditional bail.

The trial will be held at Manchester Crown Court from 2nd November.

Support Varsity

Varsity is the independent newspaper for the University of Cambridge, established in its current form in 1947. In order to maintain our editorial independence, our print newspaper and news website receives no funding from the University of Cambridge or its constituent Colleges.

We are therefore almost entirely reliant on advertising for funding and we expect to have a tough few months and years ahead.

In spite of this situation, we are going to look at inventive ways to look at serving our readership with digital content and of course in print too!

Therefore we are asking our readers, if they wish, to make a donation from as little as £1, to help with our running costs. Many thanks, we hope you can help!