Siyar Khan

Siyar Khan was born in Swabi, Pakistan, on April 3, 1979. He came to Italy in 2004 and settled in Rome, where he was employed by Sultan Wali Khan as a tailor and a street vendor. In August 2005, he was stopped and arrested by the police in Olbia for failing to comply with a previous expulsion decree against him. In 2009, he was again asked to leave Italy, but in 2011, he obtained a temporary visa for familial reasons. His illegal stay in Italy was favoured by Sultan Wali Khan and became one of his main collaborators.
When the preliminary hearing judge ordered his pre-trial detention in 2015, he was in Pakistan and evaded arrest until June 2015, when he was apprehended on his flight back from Pakistan. He was accused of being part of a terrorist network close to al-Qaeda and other jihadist organisations, operating between Olbia and Rome under the direction of Sultan Wali Khan, 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.
Siyar Khan was 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 began as early as August 2009 and Sultan Wali Khan, Imitias Khan, Sher Khan, and Yahya Khan Ridi were also implicated in the planning and execution. Based on the evidence, Siyar’s role in the organisation of the attack was less directly implicated compared to other defendants, but he still was involved in discussions about the use of explosives and his knowledge of the terrorist plot, allegedly making him complicit in the planning. The Tribunal of Sassari concluded that the evidence presented was not sufficient to establish the defendant’s involvement in the attack, acquitting Siyar on the charges related to the Peshawar massacre.
Khan was also charged with terrorist association according to Article 270 bis, and Law 4 of March 16, 2006, no. 146. According to the prosecution, Siyar Khan played a significant role in the preparation of a suicide attack in Rome in 2010 as part of the Olbia cell’s terrorist activities. He participated in key discussions about the planned attack, including conversations in March 2010 where he mentioned Tanveer, the individual intended for the martyrdom operation. When police searches by DIGOS intensified, Siyar Khan was one of the individuals that Sultan Wali Khan instructed to “disappear,” underscoring his critical role in the plot. Ultimately, the planned attack was thwarted due to police intervention.
Another crime ascribed to Siyar Khan was that of criminal association and he was charged under Article 416 of the Italian Penal Code, and Law 4 of March 16, 2006, no. 146. Khan’s role was to assist Sultan Wali Khan by receiving immigrants, finding them houses, and helping them with the necessary information to obtain political asylum. According to the Tribunal of Sassari, his involvement under Sultan’s directives in aiding and abetting immigration was significant, leading to a guilty verdict.
Alongside criminal association, Siyar Khan was charged with Article 12 of the Italian Immigration Law (D.Lgs. 286/1998), for aiding illegal immigration of Malik Abeed by providing with him with a sim card. However, the Tribunal of Sassari found Siyar not guilty due to lack of evidence.
On April 13, 2019, the Assize Court of Sassari found Siyar Khan guilty of aiding and abetting illegal immigration, sentencing him to four years in prison. He was however acquitted on the terrorist-related charges. In fact, in December 2023, the Assize Court of Sassari acquitted by statute of limitations Siyar Khan.