A teenager from Wales has appeared in court in London to admit a string of terrorism offences. The 17-year-old boy. who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested after a series of racially offensive and homophobic graffiti was daubed across various sites across south Wales.
Among them was racist Nazi graffiti painted on a mural in Port Talbot that celebrated the region's Caribbean community. Swastikas, the words "Nazi zone" and a racial slur were painted on the mural, which was initially a part of the Street Art Trail and had been been created by the ARTWalk community group to celebrate the town's Caribbean community.
It also included the numbers 1488, a code used by neo-Nazis and white supremacists to broadcast hate speech in a covert manner and to show their alliance with others in their movement. South Wales Police said an investigation then followed into "online activities."
Read more: Racist graffiti scrawled over community mural hours after it was finished
A force spokesman said the boy faces four charges relating to eight offences under Section of 2 of the Terrorism Act. They are three counts of disseminating terrorist material, two counts of possession of material likely to be of use to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, two counts of racially aggravated criminal damage to the Windrush Mural in Port Talbot and one count of "homophobically aggravated criminal damage" in Cardiff City Centre.
The mural in Port Talbot was to represent the Caribbean community within Port Talbot through portraits of Donna Campbell, born and raised in the town, and a portrait of her mother, Mrs Campbell, who came to Wales during the Windrush period.
Superintendent Stephen Jones said at the time of the incident, last October: “Hateful behaviour of this nature will not be tolerated. “I want to reassure the local community that a full investigation is being undertaken with a view to ensuring those responsible are held fully accountable for their abhorrent actions.”
The youth was released on bail to allow for a pre-sentence report to be completed. He will be sentenced on August 21.
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- Welsh Government announces 12 things they will do to stamp out racism in Wales
- The woman tasked with ensuring BAME children grow up knowing they are part of Wales' story
