Imitias Khan

Imitias Khan was born in Swabi, Pakistan, on September 20, 1972, but had been living in Olbia (Sardinia) since 2000. In 2011, he received an indefinite residence permit from the Police Headquarters of Sassari. Court documents referred to Imitias as Sultan Wali Khan’s right-hand man, shadowing him since 2005 and following him when he temporarily moved from Olbia to Rome.
Imitias Khan was arrested in April 2015. 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, including Imitias’s brother Sher Khan.
Five crimes and charges were ascribed to Imitias Khan by the pre-trial detention judge.
First of all, he 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, Sher Khan, Siyar Khan, and Yahya Khan Ridi were also implicated in the planning and execution. According to the prosecution, Imitias and Sultan travelled to Pakistan under false pretences to organise the attack, with Sher Khan and others involved in discussions about using explosives. Conversations recorded after the attack link the responsibility to Imitias and the others mentioned above: they were in Peshawar at the time of the attack and the bombing was intended to pressure the Pakistani government to halt military operations against the Taliban in Waziristan. Further evidence includes confirmations of their presence near the explosion site and admissions of involvement in the attack’s organisation, with Ridi identified as the strategist and Sultan and Imitias as financiers. However, according to the Tribunal of Sassari, the evidence presented by the prosecution was insufficient to prove the defendant’s guilt, noting several issues. There were ambiguities and translation problems in the recorded conversations; a lack of a clear linkage between the discussions and the actual planning and execution of the attack; a conversation about a suicide attack did not align with the actual bombing method used in Peshawar, and the behaviour of the defendants was not considered incriminating. Ultimately, the court rules that there was no conclusive evidence to establish the defendant’s involvement in the attack, and thus, the crime could not be attributed to him. Imitias Khan was found not guilty.
He was also charged with terrorist association according to Article 270 bis, and Law 4 of March 16, 2006, no. 146. According to court documents, Khan 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. In particular, Imitias operated under the directions of Sultan Wali Khan and was involved in various fundraising activities in northern Sardinia and he transferred money to Pakistan through various couriers. In 2009, he played a key role in proposing and coordinating the transportation of large sums of money to Pakistan, suggesting to split the funds among couriers to avoid detection by authorities. During the same year, he was also involved in contributing to the financing of a Taliban-oriented madrasa in Pakistan headed by Muhammad Siddique’s brother. Throughout 2010 and 2011, Imitias remained involved in money transfers through hawala networks, often coordinating with Yahya Khan Ridi, and in 2011 was involved in the fundraising efforts for building a mosque intended for recruiting mujaheddin and led by Muhammad Hafiz Zulkifal. Although the prosecution suggested these funds might have been intended to support terrorist activities, the evidence presented was not conclusive. There was no concrete proof that the money went to terrorist organisations once it arrived in Pakistan, as there was no evidence that is was used for anything other than legitimate purposes.
The prosecution also asserted that Imitias and the whole Olbia cell had close ties with al-Qaeda and Bin Laden, and that the cell was used as a vehicle to transmit communications to the world. The prosecution suggested that various conversations implied a connection between Imitias and al-Qaeda, but the Tribunal of Sassari found these evidences insufficient. The references to Bin Laden and al-Qaeda were either unrelated to terrorist activities, concerned public information, or were too ambiguous to establish a clear link between Imitias and al-Qaeda.
According to the prosecution, in Spring 2010, the Olbia cell was planning a terrorist attack in Italy, and they brought a Pakistani man to commit martyrdom; this was revealed by Imitias Khan to Sultan Wali Khan in a conversation. The attack was never carried out because Italian counter-terrorism police inquiries made the defendants hesitate. The Tribunal of Sassari concluded that while there was significant suspicion and circumstantial evidence regarding the arrival of a person believed to be a potential suicide bomber, there was not enough concrete evidence to confirm this. Conversations between the defendant and others, suggested that someone named Mushtaq arrived in Italy with a possible suicide bomber, but the exact details of his stay, activities, and intentions remained unclear.
Another crime ascribed to Imitias Khan 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, Imitias, alongside Sultan Wali Khan, was tasked with providing fake employment contracts and other documents to facilitate immigration, helping immigrants logistically and financially by employing them in their own businesses, while assisting them in obtaining political asylum. From various phone conversations between defendants, the existence of an illegal organisation headed by Imitias and Sultan emerges, functioning thanks to various intermediaries and referral points, compliant businessmen who faked the employment contracts, and a contact within the Pakistani’s embassy in Rome, managed by Imitias. Imitias was identified as a key reference point, being contacted directly by people interested in obtaining fake documents to enter Italy illegally. Evidence also showed that Imitias shared information on how to get to Italy, including the requiring money. The Tribunal of Sassari found Imitias Khan guilty of aiding and abetting illegal immigration, determining that he was involved in facilitating illegal immigration on a regular basis.
Imitias Khan and Sultan Wali Khan were also charged with Article 12 of the Italian Immigration Law (D.Lgs. 286/1998), for aiding the illegal immigration, between 2005 and 2011, of the following people: Siyar Khan, Amir Yousifzai, Rabi Fazal, Ahmad, Ibrahim Khan, Ali Zulfiqar, and allowing the illegal stay of Siyar Khan and Santosh Kumar by hosting them in Olbia and Rome. The court concluded that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Imtias was involved in aiding and abetting the illegal immigration of Siyar. Although Siyar was hosted by Sultan and employed by Imtias, the court found no proof that they had assisted him in obtaining his work permit or facilitated his illegal stay in Italy. As a result, Imtias was acquitted of charges related to aiding Siyar’s immigration. Regarding Kumar, the court determined that Imtias did indeed favour his illegal stay by providing him with accommodation and employment. However, since these actions took place in 2011, the charges were dismissed due to the statute of limitations having expired. The same thing cannot be said for Ali Zulkifar, Amir Shad, Fazal and Ahmad Rabi, as Imitias did favour their immigration.
Imitias Khan, alongside Sultan Wali Khan and Ul Haq Zaher, was charged with Article 12 of the Italian Immigration Law (D.Lgs. 286/1998), for aiding and abetting the illegal immigration of Adnan Roshan in Rome in February 2011. The Tribunal of Sassari found Imitias guilty for facilitating Adnan’s employment and thus his illegal stay.
On April 13, 2019, the Assizes Court of Sassari declared Imitias Khan guilty of being part of a criminal association promoting and facilitating illegal immigration. He was sentenced to eight years and a €75,000 fine, with expulsion after serving his sentence. He was not found guilty of terrorist association. In 2023, the expulsion order was revoked.