Mikael Davud
Mikael Davud (born 24 April 1971) is a Norwegian Al-Qaeda operative convicted for conspiracy to commit terror against the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, along with co-conspirator Shawan Bujak. Arrested in 2010, Davud was sentenced to eight years imprisonment in 2013.
Early life
Born Muhammed Rashidin,[1] an ethnic Uyghur from the Xinjiang province in China, Davud came to Norway in 1999 as a refugee, and was granted Norwegian citizenship in 2007.[2] He changed his name to Mikael Davud the same year, in 2007.[3] He has been described as deeply religious, and to have refused to learn the Norwegian language for perceived religious purposes.[2] In the 1990s he studied at a Quran school with alleged ties to the Taliban in Karachi, Pakistan.[2] His activities in Pakistan and China's subsequent demand for extradition caused Davud to flee to Norway as a refugee in 1999.[2]
Arrest and conviction
As part of the investigation of a suspected terror plot revealed in 2010, Davud was reportedly subjected to the "full arsenal of surveillance" of the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST).[4] After cooperation with US and British intelligence, Davud was thought to be the leader of a Norwegian Al-Qaeda cell,[2] with connections to the terror network responsible for the 2009 New York City Subway and United Kingdom plot.[5] Evidence included series of emails, and having received bomb-making training abroad.[6] He is suspected of having had direct contacts with the commander of the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), and Al-Qaeda tops like Saleh al-Somali thought to have ordered the attacks.[7][8]
Davud is alleged to have spent five months at an Al-Qaeda training camp in the Waziristan region in Pakistan from 2008 to 2009, although he himself claims to have received training in Iran and in Turkey as part of a solo terror plot to bomb the Chinese embassy in Oslo.[4][9] Considered the ringleader, he was convicted to seven years in prison by the Oslo District Court for conspiracy to commit terror by plotting to bomb the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten and/or shoot cartoonist Kurt Westergaard.[4] His solo terrorist claims, which would have avoided the stricter anti-terror law sentencing associated with conspiring with at least one other person, was dismissed by the court.[10] His accomplice Shawan Bujak was sentenced to three and a half years, while the third suspect David Jakobsen was acquitted for terror charges due to having contacted and assisted PST.[4] The verdicts were upheld following appeals to the Borgarting Court of Appeal and finally the Supreme Court of Norway, while Davud's sentence was raised to eight years.[11][12]
In 2016 Davud sued the Norwegian state, demanding to be released on probation as he had served two thirds of his sentence, claiming good behaviour.[13]
References
- ^ "Disse er tiltalt for å ha planlagt terrorangrep mot Jyllandsposten" (in Norwegian). NRK. 15 November 2011.
- ^ a b c d e "Utpekt som terrorsjef". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). 29 August 2010.
- ^ "Her spiste de terrorsiktede middager sammen". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). 10 July 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Mikael Davud og Shawan Bujak er dømt for terrorplanlegging". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). 30 January 2012.
- ^ "Norway convicts two men over al-Qaeda plot on Danish newspaper". The Telegraph. 30 January 2012.
- ^ "Slik var e-post-kontakten med al-Qaida". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). 30 January 2012.
- ^ Lia, Brynjar; Nesser, Petter (1 August 2010). "Lessons Learned from the July 2010 Norwegian Terrorist Plot". Combating Terrorism Center.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ United States Approaches to Global Security Challenges. Oxford University Press. 2012. p. 565. ISBN 9780199915903.
{{cite book}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter|authors=(help) - ^ "Anklage: De ville bombe Jyllands-Posten". Ekstra Bladet (in Danish). 15 November 2011.
- ^ "Krever høyere straff i terrorplanleggingssaken" (in Norwegian). NRK. 13 May 2013.
- ^ "Nederlag for terrorplanleggere i Høyesterett" (in Norwegian). NRK. 31 May 2013.
- ^ "Straff for terrorplanlegging blir stående". Dagen (in Norwegian). 31 May 2013.
- ^ "Terrordømt saksøker staten for å bli prøveløslatt". Nettavisen/NTB (in Norwegian). 1 April 2016.