The self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham's (ISIS) executioner Mohammed Emwazi, also known as "Jihadi" John, has apologized to his family for causing trouble for them, according to the Sunday Times of London. The Independent also published the claim and reported that Emwazi said he was sorry for the shame he has brought upon them. Yet, the apology was not because of the executions, according to the media outlets.
Although it is claimed that executioner John is son of a Kuwaiti family, a lawyer representing his father said on Sunday Western officials had presented no proof his client's son was the John". U.S. media and government sources have said the black-clad militant who apparently decapitated hostages including Americans, Britons and Syrians in the videos had been named as Mohammed Emwazi, a Kuwait-born Londoner. But Salem al-Hashash, a lawyer who represents Jassim Emwazi, denied his client's son was the same person who appeared in the ISIS videos and was dubbed "Jihadi John" by western analysts because of his fluent English. "We would like to point out that until now, the Western intelligence services have not provided sufficient evidence that Mohammed Emwazi is the same as Jihadi John," Hashash told journalists in Kuwait City. "There are many rumors, stories and untrue tales that have been broadcast by various media and on social media about my client, Jassim Emwazi," he said. "I want to inform you that all of these are not true and are figments of the imagination of some of the journalists and their irresponsible sources." He said he had initiated court cases against all those he said had defamed his client and that they would be questioned. Hashash, who took no questions at the news conference, provided no names or any further details. He concluded the press conference by saying he had decided to stop representing Jassim Emwazi, a resident of Kuwait, citing "special reasons" that he did not clarify.
Mohammed Emwazi's name was first disclosed by the Washington Post, citing unidentified former associates. Two U.S. government sources who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed to Reuters that investigators believed he was the executioner John. He was born in Kuwait but moved to Britain aged 6 and graduated with a computer programming degree from the University of Westminster.
In videos released by ISIS, the masked, black-clad militant brandishing a knife and speaking with an English accent appears to have carried out the beheadings of hostages including Americans and Britons. Earlier the Washington Post newspaper said Emwazi was believed to have travelled to Syria around 2012 and to have later joined ISIS. "His real name, according to friends and others familiar with his case, is Mohammed Emwazi, a Briton from a well-to-do family who grew up in West London and graduated from college with a degree in computer programming," the Post said. In each beheading video, he is dressed entirely in black, a balaclava covering all but his eyes and the ridge of his nose. He wears a holster under his left arm. Hostages gave him the name John as he and other Britons had been nicknamed the Beatles, another was dubbed George. The paper said he had been born in Kuwait, was raised in a middle-class neighborhood in London and occasionally prayed at a mosque in Greenwich, southeast London.
