Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command has taken over the investigation into the murder of a former imam found shot dead in a car in London, amid speculation his killing was politically motivated.
Syrian-born Abdul Hadi Arwani was a fierce critic of the Assad regime, and Scotland Yard said on Wednesday that its counter-terrorism command was taking over the case because of “their expertise in the management of investigations with international dimensions”.
Detectives stress the investigation is at an early stage, and among community sources and the family of the victim there were doubts that the Assad regime were behind the shooting.
Counter-terrorism detectives are better placed to assess intelligence held by the security services MI6 and MI5 and have the security clearances to access such material, which may be crucial to deciding whether to rule in or out political assassination as a motive.
Arwani, a critic of the Assad regime in Syria who fled to the UK in the 1980s, was discovered slumped in a dark-coloured Volkswagen Passat in a residential street in Wembley on Tuesday morning. His vocal opposition to the Assad regime led to speculation that the father of six may have been targeted by pro-Assad forces.
On Wednesday his family said they did not think he was the victim of a political assassination. He had been an Imam at a west London mosque but recently had run a building company.
The investigation was being led by the Metropolitan homicide command before its transfer to the counter-terrorism command.
In a statement posted on social media on behalf of the family, Mr Arwani’s son Murhaf said they were in a state of shock at the “heinous crime”. He described his father as “the most peaceful man you could ever wish to meet”.
The family said Mr Arwani was a peaceful man who was “actively involved in the fight against extremism”.
“He just loved to help people. He did not care what your background, race or status was. He did not care if you were rich or poor. He just wanted to help people in need.”
The family pleaded for anyone with information to come forward. “My family and I have been in a state of shock ever since we learned of this terrible news. We have not slept and our minds are a blur as to what happened and why.
“The police are currently investigating this brutal murder. As an individual, a family and a community, we are helping the police to solve this heinous crime.”
His daughter Elham Arwani, 23, said the family were “mystified and heartbroken” by his murder and downplayed the possibility he had been targeted by Assad supporters.
“Any Syrian who is free and who knows the truth is against Assad,” she said. “It is not going to be because he was against Assad it must be for another reason, but we can’t think of it.”
In a statement, Scotland Yard explained why counter-terrorism experts from the unit SO15 were taking over: “SO15 are now carrying out the investigation because of their expertise in the management of investigations with international dimensions and an established liaison network abroad.
“The investigation remains in its very early stages and officers remain open-minded about the motive.”
A source with expertise in the way SO15 works said the decision to bring in the counter-terrorism command means police chiefs want to rule in or out whether the shooting was related to state-sponsored terrorism, or linked to extremists at home or abroad.
Police confirmed Arwani, 48, was a British national who was born in Syria.
Although he was not a key figure within the Syrian opposition based in London, Arwani repeatedly spoke out against Assad. In a lecture he gave in 2012, he described how the previous Assad regime had sentenced him to death, forcing him to flee his homeland, and then harassed his elderly relatives for three decades.
He was also involved in anti-Assad demonstrations outside the Syrian embassy in London three years ago and studied in Jordan before moving to the UK where he taught in Slough and west London, according to the London College for Islamic Studies, which describes him as an authority on marriage and divorce.
He was the iman at the An-Noor mosque in Acton until a couple of years ago.
Some community sources said the control of the mosque had led to friction between different factions over the past few years.
The An-Noor mosque hit the headlines in 2013 when a terror suspect went there and changed into a burqa in order to escape surveillance, then went on the run.
Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed was last seen entering An-Noor dressed as a man before leaving in a full-length covering designed for women which obscured his identity.
Outside the mosque on Wednesday, Sohail, 18, who said he knew the murdered man, said the entire community was deeply affected by his death.
“He was a big part of the mosque and it was a shock when he left and now this is an even bigger shock.”
Chris Doyle, director for the Council for British Arab Understanding, said it was unlikely to have been a political assassination organised by pro-Assad forces. He said Arwani was not a key figure in the opposition movement in London and was unlikely to have been on the regime’s radar.
“They would not have any moral compunction but with everything else going on would organising a hit like this really be a priority for them?”
However, Doyle said the atmosphere in London’s Syrian community was “fearful and febrile” and Arwani could have been the victim of an “intra-Syrian” feud.
“There are rumours and accusations flying around about who is in league with who. If he was suspected of informing on somebody’s family for one side or the other it is quite possible that a killing of this sort could be the result.”
