A 17-year-old was arrested in England for “collection or possession of information useful in the preparation of an act of terrorism”. This is naturally terrible. But when you find out that the information useful in the preparation of an act of terrorism was the book The Anarchist Cookbook! This is really stupid. Not only is the information simply a collection of readily information but the book is also available online and also on the Amazon UK page. So why should this get you arrested.
The teenager faces two charges under the Terrorism Act 2000.The first charge relates to the possession of material for terrorist purposes in October last year.
The second relates to the collection or possession of information useful in the preparation of an act of terrorism.
Amazon.com’s page for The Anarchist Cookbook contains a note from the author, William Powell, who says “The book, in many respects, was a misguided product of my adolescent anger at the prospect of being drafted and sent to Vietnam to fight in a war that I did not believe in.” (via BBC & Boing Boing)
What kind of terrorist needs to a buy this silly book? It’s available via links from Wikipedia and its available for download here (among other places). If possession of this book is a violation of the Terrorism Act then would linking to the same be aiding and abetting?