A 20-year-old man appeared in London on Wednesday August 17, eight months after he was arrested with a crossbow at Windsor Castle near the chambers of Queen Elizabeth II, whom he apparently wanted to kill.
Jaswant Singh Chail appeared via video link from a secure psychiatric hospital in west London.
He is notably prosecuted under section 2 of the “
Treason Act
” of 1842 which punishes attempts to “
injure or harm Her Majesty
”.
He faces prison or a seven-year banishment.
"Kill the Queen"
During his appearance on Wednesday, seated at a table and dressed in black, the young man simply confirmed his name, date of birth and address.
Prosecutor Kathryn Selby said her loaded crossbow could have caused "
serious or fatal injury
".
He reportedly said when arrested at 8:10 a.m. on December 25, shortly after entering the castle perimeter:
“I am here to kill the queen
.”
From where he was at the time of his arrest, he could see the apartments of the then 95-year-old sovereign, who lives in Windsor most of the time.
According to prosecutors, he would have shortly before sent a video to about twenty people claiming that he was going to try to assassinate Elizabeth II.
The tabloid
The Sun
published images of a video presented as coming from its Snapchat account.
"Revenge"
In a black hoodie and a white mask, this former supermarket worker living in Southampton (south of England) handles the crossbow and says: “
I am sorry for what I have done and what I will do.
I will attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth
”.
With apparent references to the Star Wars saga, he presents himself as an Indian Sikh and says he seeks "
revenge
" for a massacre committed in 1919 by British troops against protesters in India.
He is also charged with threatening death and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Read alsoElizabeth II, profession: Queen of England
The next hearing is scheduled for London on September 14.
Recourse to the “
Treason Act
” is extremely rare.
The most famous case dates back to 1981 when Marcus Sarjaent was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to firing five blank shots at Elizabeth II during a parade.
