‘ISIS matchmaker’ faces 14 years in jail after admitting sending ‘a lot of people’ to fight for jihad

The suspected leader of a former jihadist cell in the Spanish enclave of Melilla has told a court he sent a “a lot of people” to fight in Syria, Libya and Mali.

Mustafa Maya Melilla, who testified today (December 11) faces 14 years in prison if found guilty.

Maya testified in Spain’s High Court alongside five other suspected members of the cell, which was dismantled in 2014. Spanish prosecutors have demanded between eight and 12 years for each of these individuals.

Spanish authorities believe the cell was responsible for sending 28 individuals to fight in conflict zones.

Maya insists he didn’t directly send asnyone, but acted as a kind of matchmaker, putting people who wanted to travel to countries such as Syria in Mali in contact with people who lived there and could give them information.

“People who didn’t know the Qu’ran, I suggested to them to come to Melilla in search of work, look for a Qu’ranic school in Morocco to follow the Qu’ran and when they knew a bit more I sent them to another place,” said Maya.

Melilla is one of two Spanish outpost cities in North Africa, and thus has provided an ideal opportunity for recruiters looking to convey would-be militants from Europe to Africa.

The trial continues.

Source: Talk Radio