Round-up of recent Syrian war and jihadi-related plots/prosecutions in Europe

Netherlands:

On July 2, a Dutch prosecutor called for a 27-year prosecution for a Syrian individual named Ahmad al K. He allegedly went by Abu Khuder and was a commander in Jabhat al-Nusrah. According to the prosecution, in 2012, Ahmad was involved in the execution of a lieutenant colonel in the Syrian regime’s Air Force on the bank of the Euphrates river. Ahmad then sought asylum in the Netherlands in 2013. He would eventually be arrested in Kapelle in Zeeland in 2019 after video proof of the war crime was unearthed.

Italy:

On July 5, four individuals were arrested in Andria region of Italy for the “‘crime of financing conduct for terrorist purposes’, as they disbursed through a ‘money transfer’ center in Andria money intended to support the activities of anti-government fighting organizations in Syria and, specifically, aimed at financing jihadists belonging to and affiliated with the self-proclaimed Islamic State.” This was done in coordination with a French judicial authority that “ascertained that two subjects residing in Andria, on 10.01.2017, had completed two money transfers (both €950.00), which took place just 3 minutes within one another to a Lebanese citizen, considered a ‘collector’ of money available to the so-called “foreign terrorist fighters”.

On July 11, “an internationally sought after jihadist fighter was arrested in the province of Salerno.” An international alert about this individual was released by the Moroccan Attorney General at the Court of Appeal of Rabat on June 28. He allegedly went to “Syria in 2012 to participate in the conflict in ranks of Jabhat al-Nusrah and later of the Islamic State, in which he would have held the position of military leader.” He apparently went by the kunya Abi Al-Barae according to news reports.

United Kingdom:

On July 6, Hisham Chaudhary was “was found guilty of seven terrorism offences, including membership of a proscribed organisation, entering into terrorist funding arrangements and disseminating terrorist publications.” Chaudhary allegedly, “created videos to spread the ideology of IS and to call others to arms… He even sought assistance to protect the legacy of his videos, to prevent them from being deleted or taken down.” He also was allegedly involved in helping finance the release of IS women based in the al-Hawl camp, using Bitcoin in particular.

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