One of England’s most prestigious universities suspended a “non-academic” employee earlier this month after learning that he spent time in prison over ties to Islamist terrorism.
An unnamed employee at Oxford University is the focus of an internal “review” of a 2012 arrest and conviction in Italy on terrorism-related charges. The 900-year-old university has given a former Assistant Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police the task of determining how the individual’s past — he was tied to a major network of international terrorists — evaded the school’s knowledge.
The man, reportedly a convert to Islam who expressed interest in jihad, denied the charges prior to his conviction and serving more than two years in Italian jails.
“[The employee] reportedly sent emails containing links to download operational manuals on how to execute terror ’attacks and guerrilla techniques,’” the U.K. Telegraph reported at the weekend.
University officials told the newspaper that Thames Valley Police was notified after senior staffers became aware of man’s history.
Thames Valley Police told the Telegraph that it is not investigating any current crimes linked to the individual.
The staffer is believed to be in his mid-30s, the newspaper reported, though it did not name him. British libel and contempt-of-court laws restrict reporting on criminal suspects far more than American law does and it is common for nobody to be named in British media accounts of ongoing investigations.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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