Turkey to deport ‘Beatles’ IS terrorist to UK
Questions raised over why jihadist was not stripped of citizenship and could soon be free to return to Britain
‘A dangerous jihadist is heading back to the UK after a career of extreme violence and we can do nothing about it ...’
AN ALLEGED member of the Islamic State execution squad known as the Beatles is being deported to the UK amid a growing row over why he hasn’t been stripped of his British citizenship.
Aine Davis, 38, from west London, could be free to walk Britain’s streets within days after serving a seven-year prison sentence in Turkey. He faces being placed under strict terrorism prevention measures such as curfews and wearing an electronic tag as well as rules on who he can meet.
Davis has been accused of being part of the notorious terrorist cell, led by Mohammed Emwazi also known as “Jihadi John”, that tortured and beheaded Western hostages in Syria.
Emwazi was killed in a drone strike, and two other members of the group, Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, were convicted in April of executing hostages as well as torture and kidnap.
Davis – who was given the nickname “Jihadi Paul” – has denied any involvement with the gang.
His ex-wife, Amal el-wahabi, was convicted in 2014 of funding terrorism and sentenced to 28 months in prison for trying to send him €20,000 in cash after he had left the UK to join Islamic State (IS). An old school friend of his exwife’s who had tried to smuggle the money in her underwear was acquitted.
Mrs el-wahabi said last night she would not be welcoming her former husband home. She told The Daily Telegraph: “I want nothing to do with him. I’ve not spoken to him for years. This is the first I’ve heard of him coming back to Britain. I’ve completely distanced myself from him and I don’t want to see him.”
Davis was captured by Turkish security forces while hiding out in a villa on the outskirts of Istanbul in 2015 and he was subsequently convicted of being a senior member of the terrorist group. During his trial he admitted to attending the same London mosque as Emwazi and of knowing him but denied encountering him in Syria.
Davis has now served his sentence, and Turkish authorities are planning to deport him back to the UK in the coming days. But there are questions over why Davis has not been stripped of his British citizenship, which would have blocked his deportation.
His father is from Gambia in West Africa and Davis was sent there by his family aged five to live with his grandmother because he “was driving his mother crazy”. He spent much of his childhood in Gambia, returning to London for good at the age of 17.
Last night, terrorism experts and politicians suggested Davis should be denied entry to the UK and sent to Gambia instead.
Lord Carlile, the former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said: “Based on the information we have, I am surprised that this person is simply being allowed to return to the UK.
“I would hope the Home Office will provide a transparent explanation so that the public can understand why he is being treated in a different way to other overseas terrorists.
“It looks as though he may be entitled to citizenship of Gambia where he spent much of his childhood and undoubtedly has family.”
Dr Alan Mendoza, the executive director of the Henry Jackson Society think tank, said: “A dangerous jihadist is heading back to the UK after a career of extreme violence and we can do nothing about it except spend vast sums to monitor him. If Davis is entitled to Gambian citizenship, serious questions exist as to why he has not been stripped of his British citizenship.”
A leading member of the Tories’ Common Sense group of 60 MPS and peers said: “There is an excellent case for depriving all of those who hate Britain sufficiently to commit terrorist acts against our country of [their] British citizenship. Certainly a number of Parliamentarians will be urging the Home Secretary to do just that.”
Davis’s deportation threatens to provide a serious headache for security services and counter-terrorism police who will be tasked with monitoring him in the UK. It is unclear if he will be arrested upon arrival in Britain.
Legal sources advising the Government said the rule of double jeopardy applied and it would not be possible to prosecute Davis on his return for any offences similar to the one he was convicted for in Turkey.
A photograph of him, wearing combat fatigues and holding an assault rifle while pointing one finger to the sky in a pose adopted by Islamic State fighters, might open him up to a fresh prosecution of preparing acts of terrorism.
The Daily Telegraph has been told that if Davis is “deemed to pose a threat to national security”, he will be subject to the full range of “investigative tools” needed to protect the public from him.
Sources have suggested claims he was one of the Beatles are not accurate. At his trial in Turkey in 2017, Davis denied being a member of the execution squad.
Officials in Ankara said Turkey would not become a “dumping ground” for Western terrorists and that Davis would be deported to the UK “within days”, according to a report on the Middle East Eye news website. Security officials have not denied the claim.
Davis is currently being held in a prison in Ankara but is scheduled to be deported on July 9. It is possible his release on to UK streets could be delayed for a short time for probation reports and even a health check.
At his trial he dismissed photographs of him posing with armed militants as “stupid photos”.
Davis told the judge that reports he was a member of Jihadi John’s terror cell were false and that he was “innocent of the charges”.