Three Moroccan Brothers Face Trial in Spain for Alleged ISIS Financing

The three El Jelaly brothers must respond to a request from the Prosecutor. For the acts attributed to them, in addition to the sentences they face, they will be required to undergo a rehabilitation and social reintegration program, provided by the Ministry of the Interior for persons convicted of jihadism.

According to the prosecution’s statement, the three brothers resided in Catalonia in 2015 with a fourth brother, his wife and their two minor children. The latter began a process of jihadist radicalization in 2014 that led to his integration into the terrorist organization, Daesh, and caused him to settle in Syria, where he arrived in April 2015 via Turkey, reports the website Cope.es.

As soon as he joined Daesh, he asked his brothers to help him transfer to the terrorist organization, "bypassing legal controls," the money he had saved from the sale of his house and from leaving his job, as "the one who was going to be paid by the Spanish state for unemployment benefits."

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, in addition to his integration into Daesh to commit terrorist acts, he was also accused of intending to contribute to the "financing" of Daesh, "by sending them all the money he had with the help of his three brothers."

Thus, between March 10 and April 10, 2015, he would have received 1,209.24 euros and then 1,133.67 euros for unemployment benefits. And, between May 10 and September 11, the brother with access to his account made successive cash withdrawals and another "was responsible for physically handing over this sum to the terrorist organization, Daesh."

They also managed to make three transfers of 955, 1,800 and 1,000 euros via Western Union or Money Gram to a certain Mohamed Alwakie, based in Turkey.

However, Alwakie appears in the Europol file "as the sender and recipient of several transfers, suspected of belonging to the jihadist terrorist financing network." Against him, there is a search and arrest warrant from France for having received eight transfers from that country.

Furthermore, at the home of one of the accused, in July 2016, 9,030 euros were found and he had the intention of sending them to Syria "to help the terrorist organization, Daesh."