Far-right University of Portsmouth student jailed for 'abhorrent' online posts

A STUDENT who shared ‘abhorrent’ posts online and branded the Duke of Sussex a race traitor has been jailed.
By Matthew Mohan-Hickson
Published 18th Jun 2019, 13:19 BST
Updated 18th Jun 2019, 22:07 BST
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Michal Szewczuk, 19, who was in his first year studying computer science at the University of Portsmouth was arrested at his halls of residence in December.

He created an image of Harry with a pistol to his head against a blood-spattered background.

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The picture, which also featured a blood-smeared swastika, was shared on a far-right social media platform in August last year, just a few months after the duke married mixed race former actress Meghan Markle.

Michal Szewczuk, 19, who has been jailed for four years and three months at the Old Bailey. Picture: West Yorkshire Police/PA WireMichal Szewczuk, 19, who has been jailed for four years and three months at the Old Bailey. Picture: West Yorkshire Police/PA Wire
Michal Szewczuk, 19, who has been jailed for four years and three months at the Old Bailey. Picture: West Yorkshire Police/PA Wire

The post included the phrase ‘See Ya Later Race Traitor’.

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Student charged posting extreme right-wing content

Szewczuk has been jailed for four years and three months after pleading guilty to two counts of encouraging terrorism and five counts of possession of terrorist material, including the White Resistance Manual and the Al Qaeda Trading Manual.

The 19-year-old, of Wyther Park in Bramley, Leeds, also wrote an ‘extremely violent and aggressively misogynistic’ blog which attempted to justify the rape of women and children in the pursuit of an Aryan race.

Oskar Dunn-Koczorowski, 18, who has been handed an 18-month detention and training order after he admitted two counts of encouraging terrorism at the Old Bailey. Picture: West Yorkshire Police/PA WireOskar Dunn-Koczorowski, 18, who has been handed an 18-month detention and training order after he admitted two counts of encouraging terrorism at the Old Bailey. Picture: West Yorkshire Police/PA Wire
Oskar Dunn-Koczorowski, 18, who has been handed an 18-month detention and training order after he admitted two counts of encouraging terrorism at the Old Bailey. Picture: West Yorkshire Police/PA Wire

Szewczuk was sentenced at the Old Bailey alongside 18-year-old Oskar Dunn-Koczorowski, from St Albans Avenue in west London, who had admitted two counts of encouraging terrorism.

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Judge Rebecca Poulet QC said the pair promoted the extreme violent ideology of right-wing groups inspired by racist and anti-Semitic neo-Nazism.

Referring to the image of Harry, the judge said: ‘The posts I have seen and read are abhorrent as well as criminal by reason of their clear intention to encourage terrorist acts.’

She told Szewczuk: ‘Individuals were urged to go out and commit appalling acts of violence on others for no reason that can ever be understood by any right thinking individuals.’

The defendants appeared in court via video-link from Belmarsh Prison and gave no reaction as they were sentenced.

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Detective Chief Superintendent Martin Snowden, of Counter Terrorism North East, said: ‘Dunn-Koczorowski and Szewczuk clearly see themselves as superior to the majority of society and they feel their duty is to express their beliefs, in turn teaching others.’