Jihadist Mohammed G. (29) of Maastricht, released last year, is suspected of involvement in a hostage-taking and deprivation of liberty in South Africa.
An Islamic couple with IS sympathies is suspected in that country of the violent abduction and murder of a British/South African couple in a nature reserve in KwaZulu-Natal in February of this year. Rodney Saunders (73) and his wife Rachel Saunders (63) have since both been found dead and identified through dental records.
This emerged Tuesday morning during a proforma hearing at the Rotterdam District Court. The couple was supposedly kidnapped in order to rob them where the money would be intended for terrorist organizations.
False key
Mohammed G. is particularly suspected of the financial handling of this kidnapping. He allegedly used stolen credit card information from the woman to try to buy bitcoins. He is not now suspected of crimes with terrorist intent. Information from the AIVD and British authorities brought the man from Maastricht into the picture. The Saunders couple had lived in South Africa for years and by now had South African citizenship. The husband and wife were both botanists and collected and sold plant seeds.
Bank Cards
The kidnapped couple's bank cards were recovered from the suspected South African couple during their arrest on Feb. 16. They had been under surveillance by a special police unit for two years because of IS sympathies, according to reports of the kidnapping in South African media.
IS flag
An IS flag was flying at their remote home, where the pair were arrested. Two more men were arrested in South Africa in the case. A South African teenager who lived with the Muslim couple, who was in possession of the victims' cell phones, and a man from Malawi. A man was also arrested in Somalia in relation to this case.
Mohammed G. was apprehended by an arrest team in Maastricht in late February. G. has been under enhanced surveillance - including an ankle bracelet - since he was released. He served a three-year prison sentence for attempted participation in the violent jihad in Syria.
Insanity
In 2013, G. was also found guilty of preparing for murder by wanting to participate in the armed struggle in Syria. He received no punishment at the time but was admitted to a psychiatric institution for a year because he was deemed completely insane.
Attorney Serge Weening requested G.'s immediate release because, at most, there was evidence of attempted theft and G. had no involvement in the couple's abduction. For now, the court also sees no involvement of G. in the kidnapping but denied the request because of the investigative interest and recidivism risk. "It's odd that the defendant had possession of Rachel Saunders' credit cards, that feeds the suspicion that it's not quite in the right."
The trial has been stayed for further investigation.
