A 29-year-old man was brought before a judge in London on Thursday accused of attempting to kill a woman because he believed she worked for one of Britain’s intelligence agencies.
Joshua Bowles is accused of stabbing the victim, whose identity was not released during this hearing at Westminster Court in London, but referred to as number 99230.
The attack took place last Thursday outside a leisure center about 5km from the headquarters of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), an intelligence agency in the town of Cheltenham, the west of England.
The victim is in hospital in stable condition.
The investigation, which led to this indictment for attempted murder, is being carried out by the anti-terrorist police.
According to prosecutor Kathryn Selby, this attack was “planned” and should therefore be treated according to the rules governing terrorist acts.
“The defendant chose his victim because he thought she worked at GCHQ and because he had an opinion about the work they do (at this agency),” she claimed.
“He attacked the victim because, in his mind, he represents the state,” she added, without confirming whether the victim worked for this British intelligence agency.
The head of the counter-terrorism police for the southeast area, Olly Wright, urged the public not to “speculate on the specific circumstances surrounding this incident”.
Joshua Bowles remains in custody until the next hearing, scheduled for March 31.