Former British rapper ‘Jihadi’ John, who was once suspected of being an ISIS killer, was found dead in a police holding cell.
In Madrid, Spain, earlier this month, 32-year-old Abdel-Majed Abdel Barry was on trial for allegedly being the head of an itinerant jihadist cell that he reportedly set up after fleeing Syria. He had been expecting the verdict in his case.
One source claimed that there were no physical signs of abuse on his body and that he was believed to have been discovered dead at a prison at El Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz, Spain.
After allegedly ignoring a wake-up call, his lifeless body was later discovered by jail officers.
His family will be permitted to conduct their own autopsy as part of an internal probe by the Spanish Prison Service.
A further investigation will also be conducted by the court in El Puerto de Santa Maria.
In April 2020, he and another man were apprehended after being smuggled onto a beach in southeast Spain.
Although Abdel Barry was born in Egypt, his British citizenship was revoked after it was determined that he had joined ISIS.
He was charged and taken into custody at a covert flat in Almeria, Spain, following a protracted inquiry.
He allegedly opened a second-floor door to get a kebab takeout from an Uber Eats kebab delivery man when cops recognised him by his ears and arrested him.
At the time of Abdel Barry’s arrest, a spokesperson for the Spanish National Police stated: “National Police officers have developed a counter-terrorism operation that has culminated in the arrest in Almeria of one of the most wanted Daesh foreign terrorist fighters in Europe.”
“An additional two people have been detained, and the authorities are working to determine both their identities and their connections to the other man.”
When he was detained in Almeria in April 2020, Abdel Barry claimed to be a Syrian citizen by the name of Ahmed Mohamed Al Oulabi.
Less than a week before he was discovered and detained, investigating judge Maria Tardon came to the conclusion that Abdel Barry had been brought into Spain by boat with two Algerian males.
He received a nine-year prison sentence warning in court.
He vehemently disputed all allegations of terrorism during the trial and stated he had never visited Syria before, claiming he had gone there to perform humanitarian work.
He was accused of fraud as well as membership in a criminal organisation.
In a pre-trial charge, the prosecution claimed that he used bitcoin to purchase counterfeit or stolen bank cards on the Dark Web.
Additionally, it was claimed that Abdel Barry had uploaded a picture of himself on Twitter from Syria clutching a severed head with the remark, “Chillin’ with my homie or what’s left of him.”
He denied being the person during the trial.
Al Qaeda and all other violent extremists, Abdel Barry proclaimed to the court, I abhor them. I disagree with their philosophy and behaviour.
In a pre-trial indictment, he was charged with conspiring with Abderrazak Seddiki, 30, and Kossaila Chollouah, 27, and charged with playing other significant roles in the fraud, including carding, a type of credit card scam in which a criminal steals or fraudulently uses credit card information to purchase prepaid gift cards.
A crucial suspect in the search for the man known as the Jihadi was Abdel Barry. James Foley, an American journalist, was cut down on camera by John as he bragged about beheading him.
Mohammed Emwazi, a Londoner, was later revealed to be Jihadi John in February 2015.
Abdel Barry was initially thought to be one of four Islamic terrorists who went by the moniker “The Beatles” due to their British accents.