Black Country teen in court accused of sharing extreme Islamic videos

A teenager accused of sharing extreme Islamic videos and encouraging terrorism is facing a trial in the spring.

Amir El-Harith, 18, is charged with three offences of dissemination of a terrorist publication, three of encouraging terrorism, and one of possession of information on a USB drive likely to be useful to someone committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

The defendant, from Smethwick, near Birmingham, appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday for a preliminary hearing before Mr Justice Jeremy Baker.

During the hearing, the senior judge set a timetable for the case with a plea hearing on 8 December and a provisional trial from 11 March next year.

The case will be heard at Birmingham Crown Court with any trial scheduled to go on for up to two weeks.

The defendant, who spoke only to confirm his identity by video link from Belmarsh jail in London, was remanded into custody.

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.