Alex Trelinski
A PALESTINIAN man has been arrested in Alicante for extorting Muslim victims by demanding money to help his native country, but kept the cash for himself.
Two halal butcher shop owners were extorted and the 49-year-old even got donations from customers.
He was given payments by businesses ranging between €2,000 and €15,000.
The Policia Nacional got a complaint from a shop owner who got fed up of the constant harassment.
He said the Palestinian made frequent visits to his store, spouting propaganda to help his people and asking for large sums of money for his alleged cause.
The butcher regularly told him to leave and the harasser then made threats to ruin his business which would include sending emails to his bosses and suppliers implicating him in crimes that he had not committed.
He also reinforced his threats by telling him that he was not afraid of anyone since his status as a political asylum protected him and he could not be arrested by the police.
The shop owner refused to back down and so the extorter did send an email to a company making defamatory comments, while his demands were ramped up, prompting the victim to go to the Policia Nacional.
Another Halal butchery reported a string of similar events to the police, which included an attempt to get the manager to sell drugs.
The new victim said the individual sometimes stands outside mosques and with the same pretext, asks those attending prayers to help the Palestinian people, resulting in many of them giving him money.
He said the extortionist was an eloquent person who expressed himself very well and gave the image of a good Muslim, which is why many people agreed to his requests, including customers of his own butcher shop.
And as in the previous case, the threats became increasingly worse, with the victim fearing for his integrity and that of his family and business.
The Policia Nacional discovered that the arrested man even organised ‘charity meals’ to raise money for the Palestinian people.
Inquiries uncovered other victims of the extortionist who also behaved aggressively towards them and again said that he was ‘untouchable’ because he had asylum.
Police moved in on him when he was driving a car without a valid permit, and was charged with extortion, making serious threats and a crime against traffic safety.
