A British man has appeared in court accused of being a platoon leader for an Islamist terror group based in Somalia and fighting in their battles.
Jermaine Grant, 43, is charged with directing the activities of Al-Shabaab.
Prosecutors allege London-born Grant attended Al-Shabaab commando training camps, becoming a platoon leader and taking part in a number of battles in Somalia.
He appeared by videolink from HMP Frankland at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
Grant, wearing a grey jumper, spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth and has not yet entered pleas to the charges.
Carl Kelvin, prosecuting, said the charges related to “his time being trained in commando techniques and taking part in the battles carried out by Al-Shabaab in Somalia” and becoming a “platoon leader”.
His case was adjourned on a previous occasion while the court waited for the Attorney General’s permission to prosecute, which it now has.
District Judge Hina Rai said Grant’s case was “too serious” to be dealt with by a magistrates’ court.
Grant, who is remanded in custody, will appear at the Old Bailey on May 1.
He was charged last week with directing the activities of Al-Shabaab between December 31 2007 and January 1 2010.
He is charged over the same dates with two counts of possessing an AK47 assault rifle during the battle of Karan and the Battle of Mogadishu Stadium during the Somali Civil War.
Grant also faces three counts of attending an Al-Shabaab commando training camp in Kismayu, a port city in southern Somalia, between December 31 2007 and January 1 2009.
The charges followed an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing London.
Al-Shabaab, which was proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK in March 2010, is an Islamist armed group that claimed the 2013 Westgate shopping mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya, which killed more than 60 civilians.
The organisation, which has been linked to al Qaida, was labelled a “persistent threat” in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu and carries out “high-profile attacks that challenge government authority”, according to a 2025 assessment by the UK Government.
It has targeted international aid workers, journalists, business people and non-governmental organisations which have opposed or resisted it.
Migrant 'armed with knives sought revenge at London’s Israeli embassy'
Student surrounded and kicked then stabbed to death on Primrose Hill, court hears
Moment killer laughs on night bus after stabbing student to death
Killer nicknamed 'Nasty' jailed for life after punching deaf woman to death in London
