LONDON
A man of Turkish origin was found not guilty on Thursday of plotting to target former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and planning U.K. terrorist attacks.
Turkish-born Erol Incedal, 27, was tried for preparing acts of terrorism and possessing a secure digital SD memory card "useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism."
Tony Blair's home address was found in Incedal's car when it was pulled over for a traffic offence and searched in September 2014.
Co-defendant Mounir Rarmoul-Bougadjar, who was driving the vehicle at the time, pleaded guilty to possessing a "bomb-making" document.
The trial was held mostly in secret. This triggered controversy in the U.K. with rights campaigners and journalists warning it could damage Britain's tradition of open justice.
Some sections of the case were heard in front of accredited journalists who were unable to report anything due to stringent court orders.
In November last year, the Crown Prosecution Service sought a retrial of the 27-year-old student after the jury at London's Old Bailey was discharged after four days of deliberations.
The British government argued that the proceedings of the trial needed to be kept secret due to national security concerns. But the Court of Appeal rejected the proposal for what would have been Britain's first secret trial.
The prosecution claimed during the first trial that Incedal researched Daesh and spoke to someone abroad over Skype in an attempt to acquire a Kalashnikov assault rifle.
According to the BBC, the judge told the jury there were unusual arrangements regarding public attendance and reporting of the trial and that these will be reviewed on Friday afternoon.
Most of the evidence during the trial was heard behind closed doors.
