An audio recording has been released by prisoners rights group CAGE, of the Islamist militant Mohammed Emwazi, identified as Jihadi John, in which he described the 7/7 and 9/11 terror attacks as extremism and wrong and said British security services were threatening him.
The recording was made in 2009 by Asim Qureshi, research director of Cage a group that campaigns for those detained on terrorism charges.
Emwazi, a Kuwaiti-born British computer programming graduate has fronted Islamic State videos from Syria that showed either the killing or bodies of victims including British, U.S. and Japanese citizens and Syrian soldiers. US security sources last week identified the man, who appeared clad in black and brandishing a knife, as Mohammed Emwazi.
In the recording Emwazi described to Qureshi a conversation he had with an MI5 agent in which he was questioned on his views on major terror attacks.
I looked at him face to face now and then he looked at me and he said Mohammed, I said yes and he goes what do you think of the 7/7? I said Nah, innocent people have been.. have died, no what do you think, I think this is extremism. He said okay, what do you think of the war in Afghanistan? I said what do I think? You know we see the news, innocent people are getting killed and he started telling me what do you think of 9/11? I think I told him this is a wrong thing, what happened was wrong. What do you want me to say? If I had the opportunity for those lives to come back then I would make those lives come back you know. I dont think those.. I think what happened is wrong, said Emwazi.
In the recording, which was made after Emwazi was deported from Tanzania, Emwazi said the agent accused him of trying to reach Somalia to take part in terrorism training.
So after all of this he come back and he looked at me and he said I still believe that youre going to Somalia to train. I said after what I just told you, after you know I told you that whats happening is extremism this and that and youre still suggesting that Im an extremist? And he just started, you know, going on, forcing, trying to put words into my mouth to say no youre doing this, this, this and were going to keep a close eye on you Mohammed, we already have been. Were going to keep a close eye on you, threatening me.
The recording is thought ot be part of a longer conversation between Emwazi and Qureshi, not all of which has been released.
Qureshi has been criticised for blaming British intelligence for radicalising Emwazi.
