Hate preacher who ‘influenced’ Sousse terrorists given £123,000 in legal aid

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Hani al-Sibai denies being linked with terror and celebrating attacks in London

Public money has been used to back al-Sibai’s fight to stay in the UK – despite being his links to the extremist Ansar al-Sharia movement.

It was this Islamic group which was said by authorities to have recruited and trained the killer in the Tunisia terror attack.

Seifeddine Rezgui shot and killed 38 tourists – including 30 Britons – as they soaked up the sun in Sousse on their June holidays.

Al-Sibai is also believed to be behind the radicalisation of Mohammed Emwazi or as he is better known, ISIS killer “Jihadi John”.

Despite already living in a £1million three-storey housing association home in West London, Al-Sibai, 55, is getting no to receive more handouts from the UK Government.

This time will not be the first time al-Sibai has faced deportation in the 23 years he has lived in Britain.

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Hani al-Sibai allegedly radicalised Jihadi John

He was refused asylum in 1998 because of his involvement with the Egyptian terror group Islamic Jihad and jailed.

However, he was never deported to Egypt, after Cairo failed to provide assurances that he would not be in danger there.

And it is public funds which have helped him along the way.

Since his arrival in 1994 he has received £123,000 in legal aid.

Al-Sibai also used public funds to sue the authorities for unlawful detention.

In 2004, the High Court ruled that 14 days of his 10 months behind bars during 1998 and 1999 were not legally justified — the Government should have let him go as soon as it knew there was no chance of deporting him.

He received an undisclosed amount of compensation.

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The Sousse beach massacre was carried out by Seifeddine Rezgui

Al-Sibai's involvement in international jihadism runs long and deep

International Centre for Counter Terrorism

Aside from hiring top human-rights lawyers to help him stay in the country, al-Sibai used public funds to go to the European Court of Justice and challenge his inclusion on an official list of Al Qaeda affiliates.

The case was won by the preacher over a series of blunders.

The International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, based in The Hague referenced al-Sibai as a “key influencer” of the Ansar al-Sharia terror group in a 2013 report.

Its report said: “Al-Sibai's involvement in international jihadism runs long and deep.

“When Ansar al-Sharia held a conference in May 2012, al-Sibai was one of several foreign scholars to address the audience by video.”

In 2015 the hate preacher was condemned by an Upper Tribunal immigration court judge who accused him of “explicit direct encouragement or incitement to acts of terrorism”.

Victims of Tunisia terrorist attack
Sun, June 26, 2016

Victims of the terrorist attack at the popular holiday resort of Sousse in Tunisia where a lone gunman opened fire killing 38 people, many of them British

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Al-Sibai denies being involved in terrorism and insists he did not make remarks celebrating about the 2005 terror attacks saying he only pointed out Al Qaeda would see the bombings as a victory.

He is now in the UK on “limited leave” which is reviewed every six months while he remains at risk in Egypt.

He denies close association with Islamic fanatics behind the Tunisia attack.

He also insists he has never had any involvement with Emwazi.

A lawyer representing him told the Daily Mail: ”To the best of his knowledge, he never met him (Mohammed Emwazi). He asks we repeat his condemnation of the killing of innocent people wherever this occurs in the world, including those in Tunisia.”

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Al-Sibai denies being linked to Jihadi John (pictured) who beheaded people for ISIS

The Ministry of Justice said it had cut fees paid to lawyers in legal aid cases by more than 20 per cent since 2010.

A spokesman added: "Applications for legal aid are subject to a strict means test. Those who do meet the relevant thresholds may still be required to pay a significant contribution towards the costs of their defence."

Original Article