Yahya Khan Ridi

Yahya Khan Ridi was born in Laghman, Afghanistan, on February 1, 1978. He was living in Rome while managing a money transfer business and another business in which he bought used trucks in Europe to sell them in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where he collaborated with NATO. Ridi entered Italy clandestinely in February 2007 and he obtained a residence permit on humanitarian grounds, claiming to be a mujaheddin commander, member of the Hizb-I Islami. Ridi’s profile emerged during the investigation into several money transfers between Italy, Pakistan and Afghanistan through hawala system. His brother Asil acted as the terminal for these transfers in Pakistan, where he had been kidnapped by the Talibans. Ridi had also been investigated in Naples for clandestine immigration and hawala but was acquitted in 2013. Yahya Khan Ridi was arrested in April 2015 in Foggia. He was accused of being part of a terrorist network close to al-Qaeda and other jihadist organisations, operating between Olbia and Rome, and of having planned and perpetrated the Peshawar bombing on October 28, 2009, which caused the deaths of more than 100 people. He was also accused of aiding and abetting illegal immigration. Twenty-one other people were charged with similar offences.
Yahya Khan Ridi was charged with four offences.
He was first charged with mass murder under Article 422 of the Italian Penal Code for having organised in Olbia and carried out in Peshawar the terrorist attack on October 28, 2009. The planning reportedly began as early as August 2009 and Sultan Wali Khan, Imitias Khan, Sher Khan, and Siyar Khan were also implicated in the planning and execution. According to various phone conversations, Ridi was implicated both as the strategist and financier, and after the bombing another conversation placed him near the explosion site just hours after the attack, suggesting his involvement. However, the Tribunal of Sassari concluded that there was insufficient evidence and motive to prove Ridi’s involvement in the Peshawar massacre. The conversations presented as evidence were ambiguous and did not directly link Ridi to the planning or execution of the Peshawar attack.
Ridi was also charged with terrorist association according to Article 270 bis, and Law 4 of March 16, 2006, no. 146. According to court documents, Ridi and the others were part of a transnational terrorist organisation responsible for seven attacks on infrastructures and high-profile figures in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2009 and 2011, with the aim of forcing the government to stop fighting Talibans while financing the terrorist groups Theerek-E-Taliban and Theerek-E-Nifaz-E-Sharia-E-Mohammadi. According to the court documents, Ridi was allegedly in charge of coordinating funds destined to terrorist activities within the Afghan communities in Rome and Norway and transferring the money collected in Sardinia through hawala. Ridi worked closely with his brother Asil, who had contacts with high-profile figures from al-Qaeda. In 2009, he managed the transfer of funds from England to Pakistan and facilitated the movement of significant sums, such as €15,000, despite police scrutiny. Ridi continued to transfer money throughout 2010 and 2011, often under the direction of Imitias, even after fleeing to Pakistan to avoid arrest, by using a network of individuals, including a Pakistani businessman, to facilitate these transfers and avoid detection. However, the Tribunal of Sassari concluded that there was no sufficient evidence to support the claim that Ridi was financing terrorism. Most of the financial transactions appeared to be business-related, and the prosecution failed to prove that the funds were used to support terrorist activities.
Another crime ascribed to Yahya Khan Ridi was that of transnational criminal association and promoting and facilitating illegal immigration from 2005, charged under Article 416 of the Italian Penal Code, and Law 4 of March 16, 2006, no. 146. In particular, Ridi was tasked with helping immigrants logistically and financially, donating them money through hawala, phone cards and train tickets through lost or stolen credit cards to facilitate their journey to other EU states. He was noted for buying airplane tickets to move a migrant to Paris and aiding the entry of migrants from Greece. Conversations from 2009 and 2010 provided evidence of his direct role in managing these operations, including collaborating with Imitias Khan to coordinate these efforts. However, according to the Tribunal of Sassari, based on the evidence it cannot be confirmed Ridi’s awareness of the role of each member of the criminal association and their awareness of helping such organisation. The Tribunal of Sassari declared that Ridi acted alone and not as part of a criminal organisation, thus acquitting him.
Ridi was also charged with crimes related to facilitating illegal immigration under Italian law. In particular, he was charged under Article 12 of the Italian Legislative Decree No. 286 of July 25, 1998. In particular, Ridi was accused of facilitating the illegal immigration of numerous Afghan individuals, including Gulam Haider and the son of Gun Nabi, through Great Britain and France. The assistance involved financing and logistical support, which took place in cities such as Rome, Florence, Crotone, and Catanzaro between July 2009 and November 2010. Abduljibar Shinwari was charged with similar charges, and he is described as Ridi’s main collaborator. In November 2010, Ridi was involved in organising the movement of a group of Afghan minors from Italy to Paris, instructing Shinwari on how to avoid border controls. The fact that these migrants were discovered with illegally purchased train tickets further indicates the clandestine nature of their activities. Between 2009 and 2010, Shinwari received remittances totalling over €48,000, which were allegedly ordered by Ridi. The timing of these transactions, along with wiretapped conversations, supports the claim that these payments were tied to illegal immigration activities orchestrated by Ridi. The Tribunal of Sassari determined that Ridi should be acquitted, as evidence was insufficient to prove his involvement with the migrants and the statute of limitations had expired.
On April 13, 2019, the Assizes Court of Sassari declared Yahya Khan Ridi not guilty of all the charges against him.