The name Ahmed Samsam (34 years old) became known about four years ago when Danish media published reports that a Danish citizen had been imprisoned in Spain, when Spanish authorities arrested him during a tourist trip he was spending there in June 2017 on terrorism charges. Spanish authorities at the time described him as a “very dangerous jihadist.”.
Watch here an Al Jazeera documentary about the Ahmed Samsam case at minute 44, published last year.
Throughout that time, Samsam struggled to get out of prison because he believed the verdict was wrong, and that the Spanish authorities had convicted him of joining the Islamic State even though that never happened. Rather, he had traveled to the conflict zone in Syria on board the Danish ship as part of a mission for the Danish intelligence services to Syria.
Throughout the proceedings, Ahmed Samsam’s lawyers were trying to get an answer from the Danish intelligence services to confirm Samsam and his lawyers’ claim that the arrest was wrong, until the verdict was issued several months ago convicting Samsam of terrorism, but this time the verdict was issued in Denmark.
As a result, Samsam decided to sue Danish intelligence in court, as he would not accept being labeled a terrorist.
On Friday, lawyer Erbil Kaya filed a lawsuit against both the Intelligence Service (PET) and the Armed Forces Intelligence Service (FE) in a Copenhagen City Court, claiming that the intelligence agencies are “obliged to admit” that Ahmed Samsam was sent on missions to Syria.
According to lawyer Erbil Kaya, the intelligence services admit that Ahmed Samsam worked with them and traveled with their approval, as DR has seen the lawsuit.
The following are some examples of Ahmed Samsam’s trips to Syria, financial transfers, meetings and conversations that PET and FE are required to confirm.
For example, details show that Ahmed Samsam during 2014 was required to receive training in a military training area in North Zealand and that he then went to Syria in a four-wheel drive vehicle with a convoy sent by FE. According to the recall, this also included equipment such as rangefinders, night-vision goggles, and bulletproof vests.
Regarding the lawsuit, lawyer Erbil Kaya stated that Ahmed Samsam had tried for a long time to resolve the situation amicably, as he had been wrongly convicted. Since the intelligence services did not help him get out of this situation, this was the only option. He emphasized that he would not accept being described as a terrorist.
According to DR, which relied on several sources, Ahmed Samsam traveled on missions for both PET and FE with the aim of gathering information about Syrian fighters.
Sources also indicate that Ahmed Samsam received salaries for those tasks.
The Danish newspaper Berlingske previously revealed the case and its consequences for Ahmed Samsam in several articles.
The silence of the intelligence services
The arrest in Spain occurred when Spanish police (the Civil Guard) found Ahmed Samsam “suspicious” on the sunny Spanish coast. When police found a phone at the time of the arrest filled with pictures of Ahmed Samsam carrying weapons in Syria and posing in front of a black flag resembling the ISIS flag, he was charged under terrorism regulations.
After spending a year in detention in Spain, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for joining the Islamic State terrorist organization. DR attended the trial and noted that Samsam's defense repeatedly tried to contact Danish intelligence, but all attempts were met with silence, and the court did not allow him to present any evidence from Denmark.
According to the report, Ahmed Samsam immediately told the Spanish police about his cooperation with the Danish intelligence services and did the same during the trial. He said, “If I had joined a terrorist organization, I might have been convicted in Denmark.“ He also said during the trial, ”The intelligence services knew everything I was doing.”.
The Spanish prosecution stated at the time that it had not received any information from the Danish intelligence services.
Arrest in Denmark
Ahmed Samsam was transferred to Denmark almost a year ago after spending three and a half years in a high-security Spanish prison.
In the Glostrup court, the Spanish sentence of eight years imprisonment was reduced to six years imprisonment, which was the maximum penalty for the violation under Danish law at that time.
Arbil Kaya says, “The case affected Samsam a lot. He had a tough and difficult game in Spain first and now in Denmark. He sat in harsh conditions in Spain and feels that his honor and dignity have been violated. He helped someone and is being punished for it, so he has lost his sense of justice.”.
A historic legal confrontation
Professor of Law and faculty member at the University of Southern Denmark, Fredrik Wie, stated that it remains difficult for Ahmed Samsam and his defense attorney, Erbil Kaya, to obtain the opinions of the intelligence services, because even if their employees are required to tell the truth in court, employees of the PET and FE can refuse to testify or provide documents on the grounds of confidentiality. Therefore, the court cannot compel the PET or FE to confirm whether Ahmed Samsam is cooperating with them or not, as this is considered problematic in the case, which he described as historic.
Source: DR
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