Belgian Mother Sentenced for Financing Son’s Jihadist Activities: Inside the Case

2023-12-19 10:33:00

Malika Maalmi, 55 years old, the mother of Yassine Cheikhi alias, Abu Talha al-Belgiki, a Belgian jihadist who left to fight for Daesh in Syria since the summer of 2013, was sentenced to one year in prison with a suspended probationary period of 5 years before the Liège Court of Appeal for having sent a total sum of 2,700 euros in four payments. Money which was used to help the jihadist continue his stay alongside other fighters. The man, now aged around thirty, was notably filmed with Abdelhamid Abaaoud, one of the perpetrators of the Paris attacks, while he was busy dragging corpses attached to a pick-up. He also allegedly purchased an underage Yazidi slave. Sheikhi fought throughout the war in the ranks of Daesh. Yassine Cheikhi was declared dead by the terrorist organization Daesh. But it was not. His family had even been informed of his death during bombings, when in reality he was in a Kurdish prison, alive and in good health. In Belgium, he was sentenced in absentia to 5 years in prison.

“Several recruiters continue their work without being arrested”

Malika Maalmi is not unknown to the media. In fact, this mother had, with others, filed a civil suit before the Brussels criminal court once morest Jean-Louis Denis, known as “the submissive”, who recruited jihadists. The plaintiffs were dismissed by the court, because the magistrates emphasized that their children were adults when they decided to go and fight. “Several recruiters continue their work without being arrested,” commented Malika Maalmi to our colleagues at Slate.fr. It is in this context that Malika Maalmi, who was either on mutual insurance or benefiting from unemployment income, raised a total of 2,700 euros. She transferred this amount to her son in four installments via Western Union using one of her ID cards declared lost. The money was sent to an ISIS fundraiser.

”I just wanted to bring him back.”

The facts were discovered following an anonymous tip. The payments ended in 2017. Initially, when questioned regarding these payments, she completely denied the facts. She then declared that she had sent money for him to return to Belgium but this did not emerge from the investigation. “I just wanted to bring him back,” the defendant explained once more to the magistrates. “No message indicates any desire to return to the leadership of Yassine Cheikhi,” noted the federal prosecutor’s office. For the magistrate, she might not ignore her son’s deep regimentation. “We can humanly understand a mother who wants to help her son, but at the legal level, the offense is established,” said the federal prosecutor. Me Nicolas Cohen, for his part, pleaded for acquittal because his client would not have been aware that she was going to participate in terrorist activities. “Her goal was to bring him back,” argued the lawyer. “If he didn’t have that intention, that’s up to him.” The court found the facts established.

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