Did Cage director train Jihadi John? MoS uncovers new evidence that links apologists for ISIS butcher to his desert weapons camp
- Director of Cage may have been involved in training Jihadi John in Syria
- Photograph appears to place Moazzam Begg at same camp in late 2012
- Mohammed Emwazi later joined ISIS and began his murderous campaign
- Picture shows Mr Begg sitting around table with terror group leaders
- He denied knowing Emwazi in Syria and denied being at the training camp
- Cage rights group sparked outrage by calling Emwazi a 'beautiful man'
The
director of a human rights group which sparked outrage after it called
Jihadi John ‘a beautiful young man’ may have been involved in training
him at a camp run by militants in Syria.
A
Mail on Sunday investigation has uncovered evidence that appears to
place Cage director and former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg at
the same Syrian training camp as Mohammed Emwazi – the real name of
Jihadi John – in late 2012.
Emwazi later joined Islamic State (ISIS) and began the murderous campaign which has seen the beheading of five Western hostages.
A photograph of Cage director and
former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg appears to place him at the
same Syrian training camp as Mohammed Emwazi – the real name of Jihadi
John
Official
sources have confirmed to The Mail on Sunday the existence of a
photograph of Mr Begg with a Syrian camp commander, who also appears in a
video with a man believed to be Jihadi John, apparently taken at the
same camp.
The
picture was part of police evidence against Mr Begg in a trial last
October at the Old Bailey, when he was charged with attending a
terrorist training camp in Syria between October 2012 and April 2013.
In
the photograph, Mr Begg is sitting around a table with Abu Omar
Al-Shishani, who was then leader of the militant group Katibat
Al-Muhajireen (KaM), and British jihadi Rabah Tahari with other
militants, apparently sipping coffee. The photo was apparently taken at
the group’s camp in Northern Syria in December 2012.
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A
source, who did not want to be named, said: ‘The picture definitely puts
Begg in Syria. There were other individuals in the same photo, and they
all looked like militants rather than ordinary people.’
The photograph was never produced in court and its existence has not been acknowledged until now.
The
trial collapsed within days of opening, due to new evidence being given
by MI5 to the Crown Prosecution Service which apparently made the
likelihood of a conviction unlikely.
Mr Begg (pictured) denied knowing Emwazi in Syria and denied being at the camp
Months
after Mr Begg’s photo with Al-Shishani was taken, a two-minute video
was filmed of a masked man believed to be Emwazi, apparently at the same
camp, also with Al-Shishani.
When
approached last week, Mr Begg denied knowing Emwazi in Syria and denied
being at the camp, before driving off from his £500,000 home in
Birmingham.
The
possibility of a connection between Begg and Emwazi is likely to add
more pressure on Cage, which has been condemned for its pronouncements
on Emwazi.
Last
month the group caused outrage when it described him, as a ‘beautiful
young man’ at a press conference, and adding the cold-blooded killer was
an ‘extremely gentle’ and ‘humble person’, radicalised by MI5.
The
video apparently featuring Emwazi appeared on the internet last month.
In it, he gives a speech as red-bearded Al-Shishani stands behind him.
Emwazi announces the merger of KaM with another militant group called
Jaish Al-Muhammad.
The
new bigger group would be called Jaish Al-Muhajireen wal Ansar (JMA),
and would be led by Al-Shishani, the masked figure announces.
In
late 2013, Al-Shishani defected from JMA to take up a commander role
within Islamic State. Al-Shishani took half of JMA’s fighters with him,
believed to have included Emwazi.
Months
later, Emwazi would become one of the world’s most wanted men, after
beheading five Western hostages on camera, including Britons Alan
Henning, 47, and David Haines, 44.
Emwazi’s
training at KaM in late 2012 and early 2013 suggests an overlap with Mr
Begg’s travels in northern Syria at the same time.
Details
of Mr Begg’s visit to Syria emerged at the Old Bailey trial, where he
and an associate called Gerrie Tahari, 45, from Birmingham, were charged
with terrorism offences.
The court heard that Mr Begg visited northern Syria between October 2012 and April 2013.
His
visit was intended to investigate the rendition of a Libyan man from
Syria to one of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s jails with the help of
MI5, Mr Begg claimed.
Emwazi later joined ISIS and began the murderous campaign which has seen the beheading of five Western hostages
But he also stayed at a training camp for foreign fighters who were at the time fighting the Assad regime, the court heard.
The
prosecution said that detectives found electronic documents in Mr
Begg’s computer with titles like ‘tactical training schedules’ and
‘fitness training schedules’ which were used at the camp.
Another
allegation made in court was that Mr Begg bought a Honda electricity
generator for Gerrie Tahari’s husband, Rabah, who at the time was
fighting in Syria as a junior leader of KaM.
After
his trial collapsed, Mr Begg gave an interview to The Guardian, where
he admitted to training recruits at a camp in Idlib, North-West Syria.
The training included exercises using fake wooden guns.
He
told the newspaper that such training was not an act of terrorism as it
was an attempt to help people defend themselves against a murderous
regime.
Separately,
in the same month, Mr Begg’s colleague and friend at Cage, Cerie
Bullivant, gave an interview to the Foreign Policy journal.
Mr
Bullivant told the magazine that Mr Begg stayed at a camp called Jaish
Al-Muhajireen wal Ansar (the outfit previously known as Katibat
Al-Muhajireen) which was run by Al-Shishani.
Rafaello
Pantucci, a Syria expert at the think-tank RUSI, said: ‘It is very
likely that Emwazi was at the KaM camp because his friends also went
there.
Mr Begg is sitting around a table with
Abu Omar Al-Shishani (pictured), who was then leader of the militant
group Katibat Al-Muhajireen
‘It is also likely from the evidence of the photograph that Moazzam Begg was linked to the same camp.
‘So
Moazzam Begg should reveal what interactions he has had with this camp
or other camps.’ Kuwaiti-born Emwazi, who grew up in the Queen’s Park
area of West London, is believed to have travelled to Syria in late
2012, apparently fleeing Britain in the back of a lorry.
He
is thought to have joined the ranks of KaM, which was fighting the
Assad regime at the time. Three of Emwazi’s friends from London joined
KaM months before him.
They included Ibrahim Mazwagi, 21, Mohammed Al-Araj, 23, and Choukri Ellekhlifi, 22, all of whom have been killed in Syria.
Last
night Lord Carlile, the Government’s former counter-terrorism watchdog,
said: ‘I think if Moazzam Begg was present at the camp as has been
alleged, then I would hope that he makes full disclosure of his
activities there.’
A spokesman for Cage said: ‘Cage reiterates its position that the last contact we had with Mr Emwazi was in 2012 over email.’
Logo: The symbol for jihadi group Jaish Al-Muhajireen wal Ansar, which was run by Al-Shishani
Cage also denied claims that it was an ‘apologist for terror.’
A spokesman said: ‘To explain and seek answers to people turning to violence is not to apologise.
‘No
Muslim organisation or leader has excused Emwazi’s actions, but we want
to understand how a young man brought up here ends up engaging in such
behaviour.’
Last
night, Birnberg Peirce & Partners, the law firm acting for Mr Begg,
said: ‘Mr Begg at no time ever met Mohammed Emwazi; he knew nothing of
his existence in Syria or anywhere else.
‘He, Mr Begg, did not train at the Katibhat Al-Muhajireen camp.’
The
Charity Commission has investigated the Joseph Rowntree Charitable
Trust and The Roddick Foundation over the two bodies’ six-figure
donations to Cage.
The
Rowntree Trust recently stopped the funding after Cage’s links to
Emwazi emerged in the wake of him being unmasked as Jihadi John.
Internet gaffe by US government as UK extremist's sharia law photo used in free speech ad
The
US government has made a bizarre internet gaffe by posting a British
Muslim extremist’s photograph of veiled women calling for sharia law,
citing it as an inspirational example of free speech in the West.
The
American State Department’s ‘Think Again Turn Away’ campaign is
designed to dissuade Muslims from joining IS – also known as ISIS – and
other extreme groups.
The
campaign posted the picture on its Twitter account last week, adding:
‘In open societies, all faiths enjoy freedom of speech; under ISIS rule,
no such thing as freedom of expression.’
The photograph shows Muslim women, all in black burkas, running a campaign stall in Dalston, East London
The
photograph shows Muslim women, all in black burkas, running a stall in
Dalston, East London. They are standing behind a trestle table covered
in leaflets and a banner reading: ‘Shariah law or man made law. Which is
better for mankind?’
An
investigation by The Mail on Sunday has found the banner was used in an
extremist campaign called Stay Muslim, Don’t Vote, which calls for
strict sharia law to be imposed on Britain, as well as urging Muslims
not to vote in elections.
The
photo was given the caption ‘Muslims coming out inviting society to
Islam’ – which was copied by the US State Department – by a man calling
himself Abdulrahman Muhajir, whose Twitter account is suspended.
Blunder: Moshiur Rahman, who posted the image online
The
Mail on Sunday can reveal he is Moshiur Rahman, a 33-year-old from
Luton, who last year was one of 12 Islamists given Asbos banning them
from taking part in demonstrations over a violent protest rally on
Oxford Street. At least two of the gang are believed to be fighting for
IS in Syria.
Anjem
Choudary – the hate preacher who has repeatedly blamed British foreign
policy for terrorist attacks and whose al-Muhajiroun group was banned by
the Government – was present at the event in Dalston on March 7. He has
also given talks in Walthamstow and East Ham at demonstrations where
the sign was used.
The
photo appropriated by the US State Department was first placed on
Twitter last week by a woman calling herself Umm Usmaan, who is a
leading figure in the anti-democracy campaign.
She described it as an ‘Islamic roadshow’ and included the slogan ‘stay Muslim, don’t vote’ when she put the photo on Twitter.
Yesterday she posted a picture of another sign with the message: ‘The right of legislation belongs to none but Allah!’
Last
night, terror expert Douglas Murray, associate director of the Henry
Jackson Society think-tank, said: ‘It’s an incredibly weak “fail”,’ he
said. ‘They should be putting a bit more thought into their sourcing.
With all of our resources, it’s not even as accomplished as the crudest
IS propaganda.’
US Twitter users were also quick to ridicule the State Department, with one calling it an ‘epic fail’.
Conservative
US commentator Mark Steyn added: ‘Why is the State Department promoting
sharia for the United Kingdom? Aren’t they supposed to uphold the
Constitution of the United States? Sharia’s incompatible with that
constitution, as it is with the legal inheritance of Western
civilisation.’
The State Department did not respond to requests to comment yesterday.
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