Rafik Yousef

Rafik Mohammad Yousef (27 August 1974 – 17 September 2015) was a Kurdish Islamist terrorist who was tried and convicted for plotting to assassinate the Prime Minister of Iraq during his visit to Germany in 2004, served time, and, after being released from prison, was shot and killed when he attacked a German police officer with a knife in Berlin on 17 September 2015.[1][2]

Rafik Yousef
Born
Rafik Mohammad Yousef

(1974-08-27)27 August 1974
Baghdad, Iraq
Died17 September 2015(2015-09-17) (aged 41)
Berlin, Germany
CitizenshipIraqi
OrganizationAnsar al-Islam
Known forAttempt to assassinate Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi

Early life and education

Rafik Yousef was born in Baghdad to a family of Sunni Kurds in 1974. He was imprisoned in Iraq for over two years under Saddam Hussein's rule.[3]

Career

After his release from prison, Yousef immigrated to Germany in 1996, at the age of 22, living in Mannheim and later in Berlin-Gropiusstadt, where he started a construction business. He had a German travel document. People who knew him described him as an "insane and harried" person; he was also threatened to be banned from a Berlin mosque because of his radical statements.[4]

2004 assassination attempt

In 2004, Yousef and two other Kurds, Ata R. and Mazen H., both of them members of Ansar al-Islam, planned to assassinate Ayad Allawi, while he visited Germany. The assassination was planned to take place during an appearance by Allawi in Berlin at Deutsche Bank on 3 December 2004.[5]

The three were among more than 20 alleged affiliates of Ansar al-Islam, a radical Islamist group linked to al-Qaeda,[6][7] arrested in Europe in 2004 as security officials asserted that the group was smuggling trained operatives into Europe to carry out attacks.[8] Rafik Yousef personally knew Mullah Krekar and had close ties with him.[9]

The three were convicted of plotting to assassinate Allawi, and sentenced to prison.[1][6][10] They were arrested separately on 3 December 2004.[6] Yousef served an eight-year sentence and was freed in 2013, but he was required to wear an electronic ankle monitor.[11] According to Bild newspaper, the monitor had been cut off only hours before Yousef attacked the police officer in 2015.[1]

2015 police officer attack and death

The attack took place in the Spandau district of Berlin. Police were alerted to a "madman with a knife" who was threatening passersby.[12] As the first police officer arrived at the scene and emerged from her vehicle, Yousef stabbed her in the neck just above her protective vest, her partner immediately drew his gun and shot Yousef four times, killing him.[1][7]

Posthumous conspiracy theory

A conspiracy theory claiming that Yousef is still alive and active began in Italy before spreading to Germany and then to the English-speaking world. It initially purported that Yousef is "Paul H.", the name given to an at-the-time unidentified suspect of a fatal knife attack at Grafing station in Grafing, southern Germany, on 10 May 2016, although later "Paul H." was captured and admitted into a mental hospital.[13] In 2016, conspiracy theorists claimed that Yousef's name had been changed as part of a cover-up.[14]

References
  1. Huggler, Justin (17 September 2015). "Islamic terrorist shot dead after Berlin attack on policewoman". Telegraph. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  2. "Iraqi man shot dead in Berlin after stabbing policewoman". The Guardian. Agence France. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  3. "Berlin: Dschihadist durch Polizei erschossen".
  4. Cziesche, Dominik; Stark, Holger (2005-09-04). "Dinner für den Dschihad". Der Spiegel (in German). pp. 62–63. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  5. "Suspects in plot to kill Iraqi premier in 2004 indicted in Germany". BBC. 28 March 2006. ProQuest 459543240.
  6. "Ansar al-Islam in Germany: Iraqis Convicted of Allawi Assasination [sic] Plot". Der Spiegel. 15 July 2008. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  7. Martin, Michelle (17 September 2015). "Berlin police shoot dead convicted militant after knife attack". Reuters. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  8. Czuczka, Tony (8 January 2005). "German authorities say Islamic militants behind Allawi assassination plot are sending fighters from Iraq to Europe". Union Tribune. AP. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  9. United Nations Security Council (26 August 2009). "QDi.205 RAFIK MOHAMAD YOUSEF]. UN Security Council Committeepursuant to resolution 267 (1999) and 1989 (2011) concerning AL-QAIDA and associated individuals and entities". www.un.org. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
  10. "Ansar al-Islam in Germany: Iraqis Convicted of Allawi Assasination [sic] Plot". Spiegel. 15 July 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  11. "Germany police shoot Berlin Islamist after knife attack". BBC. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  12. Ford, Dana (17 September 2015). "Police kill Iraqi man in Berlin after knife attack on street". CNN. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  13. Dearden, Lizzie (10 May 2016). "A suspected Islamist has launched a stabbing attack in Germany". The Independent. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  14. Pezet, Jacques (12 May 2016). "Attaques au couteau en Bavière : comment le coupable Paul H. est devenu Rafik Youssef" [Knife attacks in Bavaria: how the perpetrator Paul H. became Rafik Youssef]. Libération (in French). Retrieved 13 May 2016.
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