Earlier this week, 20-year-old Birmingham resident and student Mouloud Tahari was arraigned in an English court on charges of financing terrorism in Syria. Tahari, along with his 44-year-old mother Gerrie Tahari and former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg have been investigated relating to their financial dealings in Syria.
The charges include providing funding for various terrorist groups in the country from December 2011 to November 2013. Although the court would not release any details pertaining to the case, reports indicate that Tahari and his mother were both deeply involved in the chaos that has been dominating Syria for the past several years.
All three people were arrested last week, with the younger Tahari being the last charged in connection with these crimes. He appeared in a Birmingham court on Tuesday, March 4, where he officially had the violations brought against him. He was reportedly quiet in court, only speaking to the officials to confirm his name and date of birth.
Tahari was remanded into custody of the court, where he will await his appearance at the Old Bailey criminal court on March 14, along with his mother and Begg. The elder Tahari and Begg were both arrested and charged with terror financing in Syria over the past weekend. Tahari did not enter a plea at the preliminary hearing on Tuesday, but his lawyer confirmed outside of court that his client denies connection to these financial crimes and would be pleading not guilty at his next court date.
The Tahari case is just the latest in a growing epidemic in Europe, where more and more young people from European countries are facing legal ramifications over funding or joining terrorist organizations over in Syria. According to reports, eight men between the ages of 29 and 43 have been arrested for their financial connections to Syria in England alone.
