BBC’s AI scientist accused Israel of ‘apartheid,’ was reportedly arrested for having al-Qaeda manual

A senior AI data scientist at the BBC is a pro-Palestinian activist who accused Israel of apartheid and was once arrested for possession of an al-Qaeda terrorist training pamphlet, according to The Telegraph.

Hicham Yezza, born in Algeria, has worked for the BBC since 2021, when he served as an expert in the Middle East and North Africa. He now serves as the principal data scientist at the British public broadcaster’s Responsible AI unit, according to his LinkedIn profile.

But until a few days ago, The Telegraph reports, he was also listed as the editor-in-chief of Ceasefire magazine, a pro-Palestinian publication he co-founded in 2003.

In 2008, Yezza was arrested for possession of the al-Qaeda pamphlet, but was not charged because he said he had it to conduct “academic research on militant Islam,” according to the Telegraph.

The next year he was imprisoned on immigration offenses. He was not deported upon release and is now a British citizen, according to the Telegraph.

A former prisoner who has accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and defended Hamas terrorism is now employed by the BBC to advise on the use of AI in its news output.

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— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) October 17, 2026

He has lashed out at Israel on social media as well. He has accused Israel of “apartheid” several times, including posting on X in 2021 about Israel’s “decades-long racist Apartheid occupation and brutalisation of the Palestinians.”

In 2018, he wrote that “apologists” for “Israeli crimes” shouted “Hamas! Hamas! Hamas!” as a distraction.

In 2014, he shared an Al Jazeera article accusing Israel of “systematic genocide to make life unbearable for Palestinians.”

He also defended former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who faced repeated accusations of antisemitism.

The BBC told the Telegraph, “While we wouldn’t normally comment on individuals, none of this appears to relate to his time at the BBC.”

It said he was mistakenly listed as the editor of the publication he founded, which the BBC said he left five years ago, before he began as its employee.