Aine Lesley Davis is a British convert to Islam, who was convicted, in a Turkish court, of being a member of a terrorist group, while serving as a fighter for the shortlived Daesh "Islamic State".
2014 conviction of his wife, in the United Kingdom
His wife, Amal el-Wahabi, was convicted, in 2014, of funding terrorism, when she tried to use a friend to smuggle 20,000 euros to Davis. During her trial el-Wahabi said one factor that triggered Davis to leave London was his desire to stop using drugs, and to avoid the friends likely to challenge his resolve. A photo on el-Wahabi's cell-phone, that Davis had sent her, via the WhatsApp application, was used by the prosecution to argue that el-Wahabi should have realized Davis was involved in militancy. The imageshows Davis posing with a group of over a dozen young men, many of whom were brandishing rifles. Citing text messages the pair exchanged on their cell phones the prosecution argued that el-Wahabi arrange the funds transfer to retain Davis's loyalty, because he had threatened to take a second wife.
Alleged to have guarded some of Daesh's foreign captives
Daesh captured some European and North American captives, and it was widely reported that they were tortured, subjected to mock executions, and some of them were ultimately beheaded. Four United Kingdom guards, dubbed The Beatles, were alleged to have played a central role in their abuse. The most vocal, who appeared in several videos, issuing threats, was dubbed "Jihadi John". Davis, whose identity had not yet been established, was dubbed "Jihadi Paul".
Turkish capture and conviction
Davis was captured by Turkish security officials, in Istanbul, on November 12, 2015. A Turkish court convicted him of being a member of a terrorist group, in 2017, and gave him a seven year sentence. According to an article in the New Delhi Times Turkish Prosecutors had originally planned to charge him with "preparing terrorist acts". At his trial he admitted being acquainted with Emwazi Mohammed, aka Jihadi John, from when they attended the same mosque, in London. But he denied encountering him in Iraq or Syria. He denied playing a role in the abuse of the captives. He claimed he had grown disenchanted with Daesh, and had crossed the border to Turkey, to acquire false identity papers, to start a new life, since he knew he was a wanted man. He claimed a notorious photo of him, posing with armed fighters, dated to 2013, and he had taken it as a joke, a common lark at the time.
Call for trial in the United Kingdom
In February 2018 several citizens of the United Kingdom, who had been captives who endured abuse by the surviving members of "The Beatles", called for them to face prosecution in the United Kingdom.
