Birmingham pair denies handing £3,000 to Isis Brussels terror suspect Mohamed Abrini
Abrini is suspected of assisting both the Paris and Brussels Isis terror attacks.
Two Birmingham men allegedly handed over £3,000 to a terror suspect, believed to be behind the Islamic State (Isis) attacks on Brussels and Paris, in a Midlands car park, London's Old Bailey has heard.
Mohammed Ali Ahmed, 27, and Zakaria Boufassil, 26, are accused of handing the money to Mohamed Abrini who later became the most wanted man in Europe following the Paris terror attacks in November 2015 which left 130 people dead and the attacks on Brussels' Zavantem airport and Maalbeek metro station on 22 March, 2016.
The pair, who appeared at the London court via video-link from Wandsworth Prison on Thursday (29 September) are alleged to have met Abrini in July 2015 at Birmingham's Small Heath Park, where they handed money, breaching Section 51 of the Terrorism Act 2006. The men deny the charges.
Ahmed also stands accused of taking part in "physical training", while a third suspect - Boufassil's sister Soumaya Boufassil, 30 - is accused of researching and discussing life as a member of (Isis) Daesh.
Soumaya and Ahmed are also suspected of researching and planning "secure methods by which to travel undetected overseas", and of "accrued cash funds to finance their travel", according to Sky News.
The trio, all from the Small Heath area of Birmingham, are also charged with "engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism" between 1 June 2014 and April 16 2016. All three spoke to confirm their names before entering not guilty pleas.
Ahmed is a British citizen and both Boufassils are Belgian-Moroccans. All three of the suspects will stand trial at Kingston Crown Court on 14 November.
Abrini, a 31-year-old Belgian of Moroccan origin, became one of the world's most wanted men after the Paris terror attacks that claimed the lives of 130 people in November. He is believed to have been filmed at the wheel of the black Renault Clio rented by fellow terror suspect Salah Abdeslam two days before the deadly attacks.
He was allegedly seen driving in Saint-Denis and at a fuel station in northern France, at Ressons on the Paris-Brussels motorway. Then in March, Abrini was identified as the "man in the hat" pictured at Brussels airport along with suicide bombers Ibrahim El Bakraoui and Najim Laachraoui.
Abrini was arrested in April 2016 and, according to prosecutors, has admitted being the suspect in the picture.
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