Who is Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary? British rapper-turned Jihadi dies in prison cell
The death of Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, a former British rapper once believed to be the infamous ISIS executioner “Jihadi John,” has raised many questions as mystery surrounds the circumstances of his passing in a Spanish prison cell. The lifeless body of the 32-year-old was discovered by prison guards at El Puerto III Prison in Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz.
Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary had recently stood trial in Madrid on terror charges, accused of leading an itinerant jihadist cell he allegedly formed in Syria. While awaiting the verdict, he was found dead. In April 2020, he was arrested along with two aides who were smuggled onto a beach on Spain’s southeast coastline.
Born in Egypt and schooled in London, Abdel Bary was stripped of his British nationality after reportedly joining ISIS, leading to his eventual arrest at a hideaway flat in Almeria. An investigation by Judge Maria Tardon revealed that he had been smuggled into Spain by boat alongside two Algerian men shortly before his arrest.
During his trial at Madrid’s Audiencia Nacional court, Abdel Bary vehemently denied all terrorism charges, claiming he had never been to the Syrian city of Raqqa and had traveled to the country for humanitarian reasons. He also denied being pictured holding a decapitated head in Raqqa in 2014, as images on social media had suggested.
Prosecutors alleged that Abdel Bary used bitcoin to purchase stolen or cloned bank cards on the Dark Web. As his death remains shrouded in mystery, an internal Spanish Prison service investigation will take place, and his family will have the opportunity to conduct their own autopsy alongside the official post-mortem to determine the cause of death.
Abdel Bary emerged as a key suspect in the manhunt for “Jihadi John,” the ISIS executioner filmed beheading American journalist James Foley. However, it was later revealed that “Jihadi John” was Londoner Mohammed Emwazi.
As the investigation into Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary’s death unfolds, authorities and the public continue to grapple with the complexities of his past as a British rapper turned radicalized extremist, and the circumstances surrounding his demise in a Spanish prison cell.