Hamas leader's bodyguard convicted in Birmingham and awaits extradition to Germany

Birmingham court verdict

A Birmingham jury has found 40-year-old Mohammed Alfateh guilty (also known as Mohammed Naim) of attacking a bailiff outside his home in the Kings Heath area last October. According to BBC News, he was convicted by majority verdict of unlawful wounding, possession of two knives and criminal damage, but was acquitted of the more serious charge of wounding with intent. Bailiff Kevin Bagnall suffered a cut to the head and required hospital treatment. The defendant insisted he acted in self-defence; sentencing will take place later.

What happened outside the house

According to court materials, the bailiff had come to collect a debt — £900 in parking fines owed by Alfateh's wife — and blocked her car. A scuffle broke out, the bailiff retreated to his van, and Alfateh chased him down the street with two kitchen knives and smashed a car window with a brick; according to prosecutor Matthew Brook, he swung the knife towards the driver's window. The incident occurred the day after Alfateh learned of his brother's death in Gaza — a fact noted by both BBC News and The National. The defence argued that he had a heightened perception of danger due to post-traumatic stress: he described being tortured in Egypt in 2010, where he was studying in Alexandria, and being shot twice in the past.

What the court did not know: the Hamas connection

Jurors were not told about Alfateh's alleged links to Hamas, an organisation banned in the UK. According to BBC News, he reportedly worked as a bodyguard for former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, was granted asylum in the UK in 2015 and received citizenship in 2020. The National adds details: he was born in Germany, grew up in Gaza, came to the UK in 2014 and worked as an IT consultant; in photographs from 2007 he is seen behind Haniyeh. According to information published by Israeli intelligence agency Mossad after his arrest, his father is Basem Naim, a senior Hamas figure in Gaza and former health minister, designated by the US in November 2024 as a 'specially designated global terrorist'. In September 2025, according to Mossad, Alfateh met his father in Qatar; the Israeli side interpreted this as a possible indication of Hamas leadership involvement in promoting terrorism in Europe.

The German conspiracy case

While in custody over the attack case, Alfateh was re-arrested at Germany's request. Germany's Federal Prosecutor's Office issued a warrant for his arrest on 3 November 2025, accusing him of involvement in a group that, according to the investigation, was planning a massacre to mark the second anniversary of the 7 October attack; the alleged targets included Israeli diplomats, Jewish community centres and memorial events. Prosecutors allege that Alfateh met accomplice Abed Al G twice, received five pistols and ammunition from him, transported them to Vienna for storage and recorded a video statement of responsibility in Hamas's name. According to The National, seven more alleged accomplices were involved in procuring weapons; by the time of their arrests in Berlin in October 2025, the group, it is claimed, had an automatic rifle, 13 pistols and 700 rounds of ammunition. Police foiled the plot before it could be carried out.

What happens next

Alfateh, a father of four, will remain in custody until sentencing, after which he is expected to serve his term in the UK and then be extradited to Germany — his alleged Hamas connection is cited in the German extradition request. A defence attempt to halt the proceedings over prejudicial media coverage failed: Judge George Lubega ruled that reports of the seven arrests in Germany did not create a high risk of prejudice. The UK Home Office said there 'can be no place in our society for those who resort to violence or seek to facilitate terrorist attacks', stressing that Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organisation.

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