Kuwaiti lawyer Salem al-Hashash, former attorney for the father of Mohammed Emwazi, unmasked as "Jihadi John" last month, talks to reporters in his office in Kuwait City on Sunday, March 8, 2015. (AP Photo/Hussain al-Qatari)
KUWAIT CITY — The former lawyer for the father of Mohammed Emwazi, unmasked as “Jihadi John” last month, says there is no evidence proving the masked Islamic State militant is his client’s son.
Salem al-Hashash, who formerly represented Jasem Emwazi, said during a brief press conference Sunday that there have been “a lot of rumors and false information circulated in the media.”
He said he filed slander lawsuits against “those individuals and entities who circulated these rumors,” without elaborating.
Al-Hashash, who appeared flustered, concluded by saying he no longer represents the family, citing personal reasons. He declined to answer questions.
Sky News releases first photo of ‘Jihadi John,’ the Islamic State’s infamous British executioner, named by US and UK media as Mohammed Emwazi, February 27, 2015. (screen capture: Sky News)
Mohammed Emwazi was first identified as the masked front man in a series of Islamic State beheading videos by the Washington Post and the BBC. Experts and officials have confirmed the identification.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
