Al-Arfat Hassan is on trial at Sheffield Crown Court accused of plotting a terrorist attack in central London.A drill rapper accused of plotting a terrorist attack in central London has told a court he put on an "extremist Isis" persona to impress women.
On Friday, jurors were shown one of Hassan's music videos, which showed him and other young men sitting round a table, wearing black clothing and balaclavas, with money and weapons on the table. "With the jihadi persona a lot of Muslim women were attracted to it. That's the act I kept up with them." Jurors were shown a picture that Hassan sent the woman of two hands touching, featuring IS imagery, saying that the two of them would recreate the image.He said: "I'm presenting to her as someone who's extremist Isis. My imagery is intimidation, it's hyper-masculine.Asked if this act worked, Hassan said: "It worked a lot, I was with a lot of women."