Thread by @ntpinto23

Two Iraqi Islamic State operatives arrested in Portugal. Thread👇sabado.pt/portugal/detal…

1- The two brothers arrived in Portugal from Greece through the UE refugee relocating system back in 2017. They passed through all the screening process. While in Portugal they were recognized by another Iraqi national

2 - That Iraqi national spoke with SEF (Portuguese border patrol) inspectors who investigated briefly before passing on the information to @PJudiciaria.

3 - He then showed the police a website from a Niniveth organization that denounces IS operatives in Mossul through pictures and videos. One of the brothers appeared in a propaganda video holding an IS gold dinar

4 - At a certain point the investigation stalled due to lack of cooperation from Iraqi authorities. The two brothers lived freely in Portugal for 4 years while waiting for asylum status. It was never given. One was actually asked to leave the country.

5 - Recently, investigators and the Public Attorney tried another approach. They contacted @UNITAD_Iraq and asked information's about Yasir A. and Amar A. They ended up finding that the two brothers had an arrest warrant pending, issued by Iraq.

6 - More than that: the evidences obtained (images, testimonies, etc.) indicates that both brothers were a part of hisbah in a Mosul neighborhood. They were recruited by their older brother Fouad A.

7 - The information arrived to Portugal in August (through @UNITAD_Iraq) and the two were arrested on September 1st. Following last night interrogation by a judge they were put on preemptive prison while awaiting a prosecution. End.

8 - An update: in 2017 Portuguese intelligence suspected the two Iraqis were involved in planning a terrorist attack in Germany. One of them travelled to the country shortly after but to ask for asylum, which was denied.
sabado.pt/portugal/detal…

9 - One year later, Portuguese Intelligence alerted that one of the brothers, Ammar A. was a threat to national and European security. And in 2019 he threatened to commit suicide and not to die alone. He was detained for 60 days shortly after. End