A former Hamas bodyguard, who is wanted in Germany over an alleged plot to target Jewish people, has been found guilty of attacking a bailiff with a knife outside his home in the United Kingdom. Mohammed Alfatih, formerly known as Mohammed Naim, was convicted by a majority verdict following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
Trial and Verdict Details
The 40-year-old IT worker was found guilty of unlawfully wounding a bailiff, possession of two knives, and criminal damage, though he was cleared of wounding with intent. According to BBC News, the court was shown footage of Alfatih brandishing two large kitchen knives and attempting to stab bailiff Kevin Bucknall as he drove away from the defendant’s terraced home in Kings Heath, Birmingham, on October 14 of last year.
The confrontation began after the enforcement officer clamped a car belonging to Alfatih’s wife and entered the home to settle debts exceeding £2,250 from unpaid parking fines. Mr. Bucknall sustained head cuts and needed hospital treatment. Alfatih pleaded not guilty on the grounds of self-defence, telling the court he chased the victim to scare him away. He testified that the incident occurred a day after he learned his brother had been killed in Gaza, and claimed he was not in his full mind due to past trauma, including being shot twice and tortured in Egypt in 2010.
Defence barrister Kate O’Raghallaigh stated that her client had a heightened perception of danger stemming from past fear and desperation. After deliberating for more than six hours over three days, jurors returned guilty verdicts. Alfatih has been in custody since the attack and will face sentencing in Birmingham on January 11, alongside separate extradition proceedings at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
Links to Hamas and German Investigation
During the Birmingham trial, the jury was not informed of Alfatih’s connections to the proscribed terrorist group Hamas or his past as a bodyguard. However, it can now be reported that he was placed under surveillance by a counter-terror unit at the time of the attack, and was re-arrested while in detention after German authorities stated he was involved in an alleged gun plot to attack Jewish targets in Germany.
German authorities allege that Alfatih was an organiser who moved weapons and pre-recorded a video wearing a balaclava and sunglasses, claiming a planned attack on behalf of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. The plot was reportedly thwarted following a tip-off from the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. Alfatih, who was born in Germany, is expected to be extradited there after serving his UK sentence.
BBC News reports that Alfatih, the son of former Hamas health minister Bassem Naim, worked as a bodyguard for the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh between 2006 and 2008 before living in Malaysia, Qatar, and Turkey. He was granted asylum in the UK in 2015 and obtained British citizenship in 2020. Following his conviction, a government source called it staggering that he was granted asylum and citizenship, while a Home Office spokesperson reiterated condemnation for those supporting Hamas and its activities.
