Ali Ashan

Evidence against Ali Ashan, a Pakistani man born on June 1, 1999, hints at his loyalty to Gabar and its ideology. In particular, he maintained a close relationship with the key members of Gabar, especially with Tahir Yaseen and Nadeem Raan, as testified by their Facebook friendship and mutual support on social media since 2019. Evidence gathered by the police seems to indicate his involvement and contribution to the terrorist network for which he conducted propaganda and proselytism. In many instances, before and after the 2020 Paris attack, he shared and was tagged in videos and photos on his social media channels in which he was wielding weapons alongside other Gabar members such as Umer Noman, Ali Mohsin, Nadeem Raan, Irslan Raza, Waqas Butt, and even the Paris attacker Zaheer Hassan Mahmood. Moreover, on September 26, 2020, the day after the Paris attack, Ashan shared on his TikTok profile two videos of Zaheer and, as proof of his ideological support, Zaheer’s video claiming responsibility of the attack, receiving several likes and comments.
The Genova judge’s decree also reveals that Ashan was part of the Gabar King Group on Facebook, as testified by several likes and by a photo in which Ashan is portrayed alongside Ali Mohsin and Akhtar Shoeb. Finally, his physical proximity to some of the key members, made concrete by Ashan’s attendance at several meetings, is evidence of his involvement. In fact, he traveled from France to Italy between September 2 and 5, 2021 to participate at the meeting in Fabbrico at Yasseen’s house along with Iqbal Tasawar and Waqas Butt.
Therefore, the Tribunal of Genova ordered against him the precautionary measure consisting of a pre-trial detention for having breached art. 270 bis comma 2 c.p. of the Italian Criminal Code, having promoted and participated in an association with the aim of terrorism. Ashan asked for a shortened proceeding and was put on trial on July 12 and 13, 2023 while the judge’s ruling was scheduled for September 18, 2023. In October 2023, he was sentenced for conspiracy to commit terrorism to four years and six months.