Palestinian al-Qaeda supporter illegally seeks 18,000 euros over COVID-19
Preaches at mosque with links to ISIS terrorist who killed Israeli in 2016
By BENJAMIN WEINTHALProtesters hold a large Palestinian flag during a demonstration marking al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day), in Berlin, Germany June 1, 2019(photo credit: REUTERS/FABRIZIO BENSCH)
BERLIN - Berlin authorities announced on Thursday that the Palestinian jihadist Ahmad Abul Baraa, a supporter of the terrorist movement al-Qaeda, was accused of fraudulently seeking 18,000 euros from a bank in connection with the coronavirus crisis.“The 46-year-old accused Ahmad A. is suspected of having used the situation of the corona crisis together with his partner to snatch a total of € 18,000 in funding from the Investitionsbank Berlin by misrepresenting the extent of a commercial activity while both actually received social benefits,” the Berlin police and prosecutor’s office wrote in a joint statement.The authorities said that investigators seized money and electronic devices during a search of the rooms of the suspects as well as from a radical mosque in the district of Wedding.The As-Sahaba mosque, where the Palestinian Abul Baraa preaches, has been the focus of intelligence surveillance due to its connections with the Islamic State. Berlin’s intelligence agency has documented that the As-Sahaba-mosque is a meeting place for alleged Islamists from the Salafist movement.The authorities wrote that whether the payments should also be used to implement projects for coronavirus crisis “is the subject of ongoing investigations, which, however, due to the quick access, meant that the funds from the Investitionsbank Berlin could be completely secured.”Abul Baraa operated a shop within the mosque. In 2018, the police raided the mosque because Baraa was accused of sending money to an Islamist fighter in Syria "for purchasing military equipment to carry out terrorist criminal acts," according to prosecutors. The German-Egyptian Islamist Reda Seyam founded the mosque in 2010. Reda Seyam was charged with taking part in a terrorism attack in Bali. Reda Seyam travelled to Syria to become the education minister for the Islamic State.Seyam was killed in Iraq in 2019. The As-Sahaba mosque is widely viewed as the most important center for radical Sunni Islam in Berlin. The Islamic state terrorist Anis Amri , who drove a truck into a Berlin Christmas market in 2016, attended the mosque. Amri’s vehicular terrorism attack murdered 12 people and injured 56 people. One of the victims was the 60-year-old Israeli woman, Dalia Elyakim. The former Berlin rapper and Islamic State fighter Dennis Cuspert also was a visitor of the As-Sahab mosque.Abul Barra said in an online video that “It is not allowed for women to walk on the streets just for fun.” According to a 2014 Die Welt article, he described the struggle of the al-Nusra Front ,which is close to al-Qaida, against Syrian regime troops as "blessed jihad.”Abul Barra termed the USA “the true terrorists." The paper said he showed sympathy for al-Qaeda.
