Victim’s family blames Mossad

KUALA LUMPUR: The family of Dr Fadi M.R. Albatsh, who was shot dead in Setapak yesterday, has accused Israeli national intelligence agency Mossad of murder.

Gaza-based Palestinian news site Safa reported that his family members, in a statement, said Mossad carried out the attack.

“We accuse the Israeli Mossad for the assassination of our son, the energy researcher. Fadi was meant to fly to Turkey today, to chair an international conference on energy.”

Senior Islamic jihad leader Khaled al-Batash had also accused Mossad of being responsible for the assassination.

In an interview with pan-Arab television network Al-Miyadin, Khaled called on the Malaysian authorities to conduct a “comprehensive and rapid investigation” into the killing before the assassins could escape.

Fadi, 35, was killed while on his way to perform subuh prayers at a surau near his home in Setapak.

Fadi, from Gaza, was an imam and a lecturer at Universiti Kuala Lumpur. He was affiliated with Palestinian organisation Hamas.

An electrical engineer, he had reportedly won several prestigious awards, including one from the Malaysian government in 2016.

He had a PhD in electrical engineering from Universiti Malaya. During his study, he published 18 papers in international journals.

Fadi was involved with Islamic organisations such as Humanitarian Care Malaysia (MyCare).

He was a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Malaysia activist. BDS is a Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice and equality, with the objective of utilising international pressure to end what it describes as Israeli apartheid and colonialism.