Aine Davis

Aine Lesley Davis (born 11 February 1984), also known as Jihadi Paul, is a British convert to Islam who was convicted in a Turkish court of being a member of a terrorist group while serving as a fighter for the ISIL.[3][4][5]

Aine Lesley Davis
Born (1984-02-11) 11 February 1984[1]
London, England
StatusIncarcerated
NationalityBritish
Other names
  • Aine Davis
  • Aine Leslie Rodrigues[2]
  • Jihadi Paul
  • Hamza
OccupationDrug dealer
SpouseAmal el-Wahabi
Conviction(s)
Criminal penalty7 years and 6 months in prison (Turkey)

Firearms conviction

Prior to leaving the United Kingdom, Davis is reported to have been a drug dealer who had a conviction for possession of firearms.[6]

2014 conviction of Davis's wife

Davis' wife, Amal el-Wahabi, was convicted, in 2014, of funding terrorism, when she tried to use a friend to smuggle 20,000 euros to him.[7]

Messages on el-Wahabi's mobile phone, between herself and Davis were used by the prosecution to argue that el-Wahabi should have realized Davis was involved in militancy.[8]

Citing text messages the pair exchanged on their mobile phones, the prosecution argued that el-Wahabi arranged the funds transfer to retain Davis's loyalty, because he had talked of taking a second wife.[8]

Foreign captives

ISIL held some European and North American captives, and it was widely reported that they were tortured, subjected to mock executions, and some of them were ultimately beheaded.[7] Four United Kingdom guards, dubbed The Beatles, were alleged to have played a central role in their abuse. The most vocal, who appeared in several videos, issuing threats, was dubbed "Jihadi John". Davis, whose identity had not been established, was alleged to have been "Jihadi Paul".

Turkish capture and conviction

Davis was captured by Turkish security officials, in Istanbul, on 12 November 2015.[7] A Turkish court subsequently convicted him of being a member of a terrorist group and sentenced him to seven and a half years in jail.[9]

At his trial in 2017, Davis denied being a member of Islamic State. He claimed to have been living in Gaziantep, Turkey and to have visited Syria on only two occasions to do "aid work". He further claimed to have travelled to Istanbul with the purpose of obtaining a fake passport as he was aware he was a "wanted man". He admitted being acquainted with Mohammed Emwazi, aka Jihadi John, having attended the same mosque, in London but denied encountering him in Syria. He claimed a photo of him, posing with armed fighters, dated to 2013, and he had taken it as a joke in Idlib and did not know who the gunmen were.[7]

Call for trial in the United Kingdom

In February 2018, several captives who had endured abuse by the surviving members of "The Beatles", called for them to face prosecution in the United Kingdom.[10][11]

Deportation to the United Kingdom and further terrorism charges

On 10 August 2022, Davis was deported[12] from Turkey to the United Kingdom. Upon arrival at Luton Airport, he was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command and taken into custody under various sections of the Terrorism Act 2000.[13][9] On 11 August 2022, he was charged under sections 15, 17 and 57 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and remanded into custody.[14] Davis' trial is scheduled to start on 27 February 2023 where he faces charges of funding terrorism and "possession of a firearm for a purpose connected with terrorism". The trial will take place at the Old Bailey.[15][16]

References
  1. "British jihadist at the heart of terrorist network terror in Syria and Iraq".
  2. "CPS authorised charges against Aine Davis | The Crown Prosecution Service". www.cps.gov.uk.
  3. "Suspected British ally of Mohammed Emwazi being held in Turkey". The Guardian. 13 November 2015. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  4. "Exclusive: Briton accused of being Jihadi John's accomplice on trial over new IS terror plot". ITV News. 5 July 2016. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018.
  5. "Jihadi John associate Aine Davis jailed in Turkey on terrorism charges". The Independent. 9 May 2017. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  6. Dominic Casciani (13 November 2014). "Woman jailed for funding Syria jihad". BBC News. Retrieved 10 February 2018. Davis, a former drug dealer with a conviction for possessing a firearm, left the UK in July 2013.
  7. Simon Hooper (9 May 2017). "British 'Islamic State Beatle' jailed in Turkish trial". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2018. Aine Davis is alleged to have been a close associate of Muhammed Emwazi, the IS executioner dubbed "Jihadi John," who appeared in a series of beheading videos in 2014 and 2015. He was one of the so-called "Beatles," a quartet of British IS militants tasked with guarding foreign prisoners in Raqqa, according to media reports and the accounts of former captives.
  8. Kashmira Gander (13 August 2014). "British student Nawal Msaad cleared of attempting to smuggle cash to Syrian jihadists in her underwear". The Independent. Retrieved 11 February 2018. The jury was also shown a "selfie" Davis sent her, as well as videos containing jihadist propaganda. But El-Wahabi denied knowledge of any terrorist activities or their funding. In her defence, she denied Davis was in Syria, and claimed he left Britain to look for work and stop drug dealing.
  9. Sandford, Daniel; Faulkner, Doug (10 August 2022). "Aine Davis: Alleged fourth IS 'Beatle' arrested in UK on terror charges". BBC News.
  10. Martin Chulov (9 February 2018). "The jihadist 'Beatles': Britons who became the face of Isis cruelty". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. The original cell of four Britons had included Mohammed Emwazi, the brutal executioner killed by a US drone in November 2015, and Aine Lesley Davis, who was captured in Istanbul in the same month.
  11. Danica Kirka (10 February 2018). "Ex-hostages want British kidnappers put on trial in U.K." The Courier. London. Archived from the original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018. Former Islamic State hostages and families of the group's victims are urging Britain and the United States to put two recently captured extremists on trial, arguing that denying them justice will fuel the hatred and violence they supported.
  12. Hamilton, Fiona (10 August 2022). "'Isis Beatle' Aine Davis arrested at Luton airport".
  13. Middleton, Joe (10 August 2022). "Fourth alleged Isis 'Beatle' Aine Davis arrested at Luton Airport". The Independent.
  14. "Alleged fourth 'IS Beatle' charged with terrorism offences". BBC News. 11 August 2022.
  15. "Aine Davis to stand trial next year on Syria-related terrorism charges". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  16. "Alleged Daesh 'Beatle' to go on trial in UK". Arab News. 6 February 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
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