“Jihadi John,” an ISIS militant seen in a series of beheading videos, was identified as Mohammed Emwazi by the Washingotn Post and BBC on Thursday. British authorities have yet to confirm or deny the identification because this involves a live counter-terrorism investigation.
Initially, a Muslim-led human rights advocacy group in London, CAGE, had contact with Emwazi in 2009 because of alleged “harassment” by UK security services. He sent an email detailing how he was interrogated in Amsterdam by a MI5 officer who knew a lot of information about Emwazi.
Emwazi wrote, “He also believed that I was lying [about the holiday in Tanzania] and I wanted to go to Somalia.” Intelligence agencies believed he planned to join the extremist group Al-Shabaab in Somalia.
Emwazi also said the agent later told him that he had his whole life in front of him and asked, “Why don’t you work for us?”
The human rights group has kept in contact with Emwazi over the years. Research director Asim Qureshi noticed close similarities between him and the man holding the knife in the ISIS beheading videos.
Emwazi is 26 and graduated with a degree computer programming from the University of Westminster in 2009. He was born in Kuwait and raised in West London.
What we know about the British man who has been identifed as ISIS executioner "Jihadi John" – http://t.co/sy6oyrKw6E http://ift.tt/1AxMoPN
— ABC News (@ABC) February 26, 2015
The Washington Post reported that friends of Emwazi believe his path to radicalization began when he went to Tanzania in 2009. He was supposed to go on a safari there, but was reportedly detained on arrival. He was held overnight and then deported.
Security services believe he traveled to Syria in 2012, where he joined the Islamic State group.
In recent videos, ISIS beheaded multiple Western hostages. Jihadi John is seen dressed in black and covering his face. Before killing the hostages, the previously unidentified man with a British accent would give a verbal attack against Western governments. “Your strikes have caused casualties amongst Muslims. You’re no longer fighting an insurgency. We are an Islamic army.”
Qureshi described Emwazi as “polite” and a “beautiful young man” who frequently thanked CAGE for helping him. He believes if Emwazi really is Jihadi John, then “it’s hard to imagine the trajectory but it’s not a trajectory that’s unfamiliar.”
Quershi added that Muslims frequently feel alienated in their society and that’s what causes them to look for another place to belong.
Reportedly, Emwazi left the UK in September 2009 and moved to Kuwait to “avoid being further harassed.” When he returned to the UK to visit his parents in 2010, security forces said his visa for Kuwait had been blocked and they detained him.
The most recent victim from Jihadi John in the beheading videos was the Japanese journalist Kenji Goto after ISIS demanded a $200 million ransom.
‘Jihadi John’ ISIS Militant Identified As London Graduate
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