Melbourne man linked to flydubai attack suspect rejects ‘false accusations’

Samir Mohtadi “strongly rejects” any attempt to associate him or Islamic centre in Melbourne with the alleged attacker.

A Melbourne man whose Islamic community centre has been linked by prosecutors in the United Arab Emirates to the co-pilot who allegedly attacked the captain of a flydubai jet has hit out at “false accusations”.

The Omani co-pilot, now in custody in the UAE, had drawn inspiration from Al-Qaeda’s September 11, 2001 attacks, and carried out his attempt “with the aim of causing the greatest possible loss of life”, according to the Emirati prosecutor’s findings published by state media last week.

The prosecutor said the co-pilot, who has been identified in multiple media reports as Hamam al-Hammami, first became radicalised while studying in Australia “through reading extremist literature and following online content glorifying terrorist organisations and suicide attacks”.

The prosecutor alleged he was acquainted there with an organisation known as “MyCentre” managed by a Lebanese man called Abu Hamza.

Neither “MyCentre” nor Abu Hamza are accused of any criminal wrongdoing.

In a video posted on social media on Sunday, Abu Hamza – also named by local media as Samir Mohtadi – rejected what he called “false accusations”.

“Right through the ages, those who’re righteous, they’ve always been attacked, abused, accused, killed, imprisoned — and this is the way it is”, he said in a four-minute video shared on MyCentre’s Facebook page.

He did not directly comment on the UAE prosecutor’s claims in the video, but in a separate statement cited by Australia’s ABC news outlet, Mohtadi was quoted as saying that he “strongly rejects” any attempt to associate him or the centre with the alleged attacker.

“The relevant authorities should have verified these claims with me before releasing or publishing such information,” the statement said.

“Throughout my life, I have consistently preached peace,” he said.

“Both in my work and the work of the centre have always focused on promoting peace, harmony, mutual respect and community wellbeing. We unequivocally reject violence in all its forms,” Mr Mohtadi said.

“I strongly reject any attempt to associate me or [the] Multicultural Youth Centre with Al-Hammami. Such claims are unfounded, misleading and risk unfairly damaging the reputation of an organisation that has served the wider Australian community for decades.”

During the September 30 flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, the suspect used an emergency axe to attack the plane’s Indian captain, Smit Machchhar, who fought back and tried to call for help.

Another pilot assigned to the return flight who was also on board “noticed the cockpit door opening and closing repeatedly in an unusual manner”, according to the findings.

After gaining entry, he “intervened with the assistance of a cabin crew member and several passengers, and together they rescued the injured captain and restrained the suspect”.

Police and intelligence services in Australia and New Zealand are still investigating the alleged attacker’s links to both countries, where he allegedly spent time as a student and where he completed some of his flight training, according to national broadcaster Radio New Zealand (RNZ).