Ali Nauman
Ali Nauman, a Pakistani construction worker employed in a construction company in Pieve di Soligo and born on April 6, 1999, was arrested in Treviso on Jun 7, 2022. Nauman’s arrest was part of an investigation by the Public Prosecutor Office of Genova regarding fourteen individuals charged with international terrorist association according to art. 270 bis comma 2 c.p. of the Italian Criminal Code.
Nauman denied all allegations during police questioning while repudiating evidence about his central position in the network. Instead, he declared he came to Italy in 2021 through Greece and Slovenia along with 25 individuals, paying around €700 and €1000. He stated that he was part of Gabar for revenge since he still had debts to pay.
Nauman’s account of events does not coincide with the evidence gathered by the investigators, who place Nauman amongst the leaders and recruiters of the Gabar network. In fact, evidence points to the fact that Nauman appears amongst the leading positions in the Gabar Greece and Gabar Italy manifestos published on Facebook in 2020, before Nauman came to Italy. Also, it is likely that the Facebook page Gabar Italy was created by Nauman himself. Moreover, his social media presence and activity leave no doubt about his involvement with Gabar as well as his ideological stance. He often shared videos and photos with several weapons, prescient and alarming writings such as that of October 18, 2021, posted a few days after his entry into Italy, that suggested Gabar’s future violent plans. Also, based on his social media interactions, he seems to be close with Kami King and Nadeem Raan.
The detention order partly corroborates what Nauman said to the investigators after his arrest as he did enter Italy illegally from Greece through Slovenia on October 11, 2021. In this occasion, he was photo signalled by the police and stationed in a hostel near Trieste.
Therefore, evidence proves Nauman’s clear belonging to Gabar in a leading position as well as his considerable propaganda activity. Once arrested, Nauman was placed under pre-trial detention by the order of the Tribunal of Genova. He 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.