Sweden has deported an alleged recruiter for the Islamic State. The culture-enriching gentleman, who was allegedly active in jihad circles in Örebro, has a surfeit of Ahmeds in his name: Ahmed Abdulkarim Ahmed Ahmed. How Swedish can you get?

Many thanks to Gary Fouse for translating this article from Doku.nu:

Suspected ISIS recruiter deported in Security Police action

January 20, 2022

The previously suspected ISIS recruiter Ahmed Ahmed has been in detention awaiting deportation for a long time since he was judged to pose a threat to the country’s security. During the past week, he was flown out of the country in a secret Security Police action. Ahmed Ahmed was a key person in the radicalization and recruiting of jihadists, says terror researcher Magnus Ranstorp.

The previously suspected ISIS recruiter Ahmed Ahmed has been in detention awaiting deportation for a long time since he was judged to pose a threat to the country’s security. During the past week he was flown out of the country in a secret Security Police action. Ahmed Ahmed was a key person in the radicalization and recruiting of jihadists, says terror researcher Magnus Ranstorp.

Doku reported on Ahmed Abdulkarim Ahmed Ahmed’s deportation case in the spring of 2021. He had been in detention for almost a year since the government decided on deportation according to the law on special alien control after an application from the Security Police. For security’s sake, he was placed in solitary confinement in the Security Section of the Huddinge detention center.

During the past week, the 52-year-old Ahmed Ahmed was flown out of the country in a secret Security Police action, which Aftonbladet was the first to reveal. According to Aftonbladet, Iraq refused to accept him, and he was flown instead to Istanbul in Turkey, where he reportedly landed with a small amount of money, a cell phone, and an airline ticket to Iraq.

In his role as imam and preacher, Ahmed Ahmed operated under several aliases, and, as an imam, he was active in the mosques of Eskilstuna, Västerås, and Örebro, among others. He has also been very active as a lecturer on Islam for young people in a number of different associations.

He was first arrested in 2015 in a Security Police action in Vivalla in Örebro, and he was arrested as a suspect on probable cause for crimes against the law on incitement, recruitment, and training in regards to terror activity.

In addition, there are reportedly several monitored conversations where ISIS recruiting was discussed and witness statements about Ahmed Ahmed’s role. According to Aftonbladet, there are reportedly fourteen people in the circle whom he educated about Islam and who traveled to join terror groups; also in his residence and telephone, police found a large amount of jihadist propaganda. One returnee from Syria was also registered at Ahmed Ahmed’s home address as recently as last year.

But suspicion never led to charges, and in connection with the preliminary investigation that was closed, the prosecutor of the case commented: “In general, it is hard to prove this type of crime. Those who are recruited or were the object of attempted recruitment are perhaps not so keen on answering questions that might be directed towards them.”

From the classified file, which Doku earlier had access to, it is revealed that Ahmed Ahmed was on the radar of the Security Police long before he was arrested, suspected of terror recruiting in 2015. His legal representative had then requested files on him from the Security Police beginning in 2008 and on several occasions in subsequent years.

Unlike other cases with imams who received deportation orders after applications from the Security Police, the Migration Board and the Migration Appeals Court ruled that there was nothing to prevent the deportation of Ahmed Ahmed to his home country, Iraq.

He is thus the first of the notable imams with deportation orders whose deportation has been carried out. Previously, the principal of the Science School, Abdel Nasser El-Nadi (Abo Talal), voluntarily left Sweden and is reportedly also in Turkey.

The terror researcher Magnus Ranstorp at the Defense College commented on the deportation to Doku:

“Ahmed Ahmed was a key person in the radicalization and recruiting of jihadists, not only in the Örebro and Eskilstuna mosques but also in Gothenburg and especially Stockholm. It is important that we remove important security threats against Sweden — this will influence the future security situation.”