British Islamic State terror suspect had nearly €50,000 in Bitcoin when arrested
A British rapper described by police as one of Europe’s most wanted Isis foreign terrorist fighters was arrested when he was living in a flat with a terrace, a sauna and nearly €50,000 in bitcoin, according to newly released court papers.
Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, 31, who performed as Lyricist Jinn, travelled to the Middle East in 2013 then returned to Europe where police suspect he was about to lead an attack.
Spanish police posted a video of the arrest operation in April last year, branding Mr Abdel Bary “one of Europe’s most wanted Daesh foreign terrorist fighters”.
He was detained alongside two other men in Almeria, southern Spain.
The Spanish judge initially declared no details of the police operation could be released as is often the case in Spain, but this week lifted this court order.
Mr Abdel Bary denied any involvement with Isis and said he had arrived in Spain from Italy in March 2020 in search of work.
Police found Mr Abdel Bary living in an Airbnb flat with a sauna, his own laptop, a series of mobile phones and nearly €50,000 worth of bitcoins, according to court papers seen by El Pais newspaper.
The three men rented the flat with a “terrace, views and a sauna (which) Abdel Bary had definitely used because he left his clothes inside”, the documents said.
Police arrested the suspects when they ordered a food delivery to the flat where they were staying and officers confirmed they had found Mr Abdel Bary.
The three men left their computers in common areas of the flat.
“All this implies a personal relationship between the flat mates which is very different from typical immigrant flats where they share common expenses,” the court papers said.
According to police, the group rented three different flats at the same time in Almeria, a city in southern Spain.
“Abdel Bary’s links with Isis did not presage a peaceful stay in European space, but forced us to think about an operational return with fatal consequences for public security,” the report added.
In an interview in prison with police and his lawyers, Abdel Bary condemned the actions of terrorist organisations, according to the court documents.
Álvaro Durán, lawyer for Abdel Bary, said police had not found any connection between his client and Isis.
“They have not seized any propaganda videos of imams,” he added.
In 2014, Abdel Bary’s father pleaded guilty in the United States to conspiring to kill in the 1998 Al Qaeda bombing of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
Adel Abdel Bary, an Egyptian, was jailed for 25 years.
After serving 21 years of his sentence, he was deported from the US to Britain last year because of fears he would die of Covid-19.
Source: Independent
