'Jihadi John': Mohammed Emwazi was 'extremely kind, gentle, beautiful young man', says Cage director
Asim Qureshi last spoke to Emwazi in 2012
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The research director of a human rights group has defended the man identified in reports as the Isis militant Jihadi John as “extremely gentle, kind” and a “beautiful young man”.
In comments made after it was reported that Mohammed Emwazi is believed to be in videos of Western hostages being beheaded, Asim Qureshi of Cage said it was difficult to believe that he could have become ‘Jihadi John’.
Mr Qureshi was quoted by the Washington Post as saying there was an "extremely strong resemblance", between the militant in the videos and the London graduate he met. He says the last time he spoke with Emwazi was in January 2012, before he left for Syria.
He appeared to choke up as he told a press conference: "He was such a beautiful young man […] He was the most humble young person that I knew. This is the kind of person that we are talking about.”
He said Emwazi would turn up at Cage's offices with "posh baklava" as way of saying thanks. The Post quoted Mr Qureshi as saying Emwazi had contacted the organisation after allegedly being questioned by MI5.
Mr Qureshi criticised the UK's domestic security strategy since 9/11, which he said had only increased alienation.
"When are we going to finally learn that when we treat people as if they're outsiders they are going to feel like outsiders and they will look for belonging elsewhere?" he asked.
In a series of tweets published today, Cage said Emwazi's family did not believe it was him in the videos released by Isis.
Mr Qureshi said it was also difficult for him to comprehend a connection between Jihadi John and Emwazi. “I see that image (of Jihadi John) and there doesn’t seem to be a correlation between the two.”
He appeared eager to clarify comments featured in the Post article, saying: "While I think there are striking similarities, I can't be 100 per cent sure certain. He has got a hood on, come on guys, the guy has a hood on his head."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments