A convicted Islamic terrorist, sentenced to death in absentia for his role in a plot to assassinate an Egyptian Prime Minister in the 1990s, is reportedly running a honey and food supply business from a north London premises.
Yasser Al-Sirri, 63, a former member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, has waged a legal battle spanning three decades to remain in Britain after first claiming asylum in 1994. The Appeal Court ruled in his favor in 2021, conditional on him accepting refugee status.
The Daily Mail located Al-Sirri at a £500,000 flat in Maida Vale, west London, and observed him at a business in northwest London that provides wholesale food and drink products. Staff members initially stated Al-Sirri was unavailable but later confirmed his presence, though he declined to comment, citing a phone call.
Businesses in the area are familiar with Al-Sirri, known locally as "Hajj," and report that he supplies them with wholesale drinks. He is described as a regular sight walking towards the local mosque around 5 p.m.
Al-Sirri was a member of Egypt's Islamic Jihad when the group attempted to assassinate then-Prime Minister Atef Sedki with a car bomb in 1993. A 12-year-old girl was killed in the blast. Al-Sirri was tried and sentenced to death in absentia by an Egyptian court. He has also defended Osama bin Laden and the Taliban, and following bin Laden's death, he was quoted as saying the al-Qaeda leader died an "honourable death."
In 2003, Al-Sirri was indicted by a Grand Jury in New York on charges of conspiring to provide material support to the Islamist group Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, though the U.S. did not pursue extradition from Britain. He also openly supported Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, who was linked to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Despite being described as a "dangerous individual" by former Tory MP Patrick Mercer, Al-Sirri's asylum claim was initially rejected. However, he pursued the decision through the courts multiple times. After a tribunal granted him refugee status in 2001, the Home Office contested the finding. The Appeal Court ultimately ruled in his favor, notwithstanding Article 1F of the Refugee Convention, which excludes individuals who have committed terrorist acts or other serious criminal offenses.
British court documents reportedly reveal Al-Sirri viewed "violent jihad" as an "obligation for Muslims." The Home Office declined to comment on individual cases.