Willie Brigitte
Encyclopedia
Willie Virgile Brigitte is a French convert to Islam
who associated with the al-Qaeda
and was possibly involved in a plot to conduct a terrorist operation in Australia.
French prosecutors called for Brigitte, currently in custody, to be sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for his admission of his involvement in a terrorist organization.
, an overseas territory of France
. He moved to Paris for his final year of schooling, but chose to join the navy
instead of sitting for the baccalaureate
. He served for three years, having deserted the military twice.
After returning to civilian life in 1993 he worked in a variety of jobs, and had stints as a butcher, social worker, printer, drug rehabilitation facilitator, teacher and warehouse worker. He married a Syrian Muslim woman, with whom he had one child, but at the time neither of them were particularly religious. They divorced in 1996.
He read widely, including the Qur'an
, and at the age of thirty in 1998 he decided to embrace Islam
in full. Brigitte adopted several new names including Mohammed Abderrahman, Mohammed Ibrahim Abderrahman, Abou Maimouna, Salahouddin, Jamal and 'Abderrahman the West Indian'. He attended an Islamic school in Yemen
.
Brigitte married for a second time in 1999. They had two children and divorced in 2001.
of Couronnes, to study both Islam and Arabic. The mosques was infamous for preaching a mixture of militant and puritanical Islamist dogma, infused with anti-imperialist and anti-Western sentiment
s. It was in Couronnes that Brigitte came in contact with persons with links to the Algerian-based Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat. He was taken on oddly strenuous camping trips, believed by French intelligence to be designed by Islamist recruiters to identify suitable fighters. It is believed he helped procure two Belgian passports that were used by the assassins who managed to get close to, and kill, Afghan Northern Alliance
warlord Ahmed Shah Massoud
.
Brigitte headed to Afghanistan
in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks to assist the Taliban. He was prevented from entering Afghanistan
due to the war, and instead spent four months training in a Lashkar-e-Taiba
camp in Pakistan
, where he received instruction in weapons handling and explosives. Sajid Mir, an LET operative responsible for managing foreigners, marked him as a potential al-Qaeda operative.
In early 2002 Brigitte returned to Paris. Keeping a low profile, he shunned contact with his family and lived in a hostel with Ibrahim Keita, another convert to Islam who Brigitte met on the various camping expeditions organized by the Couronnes mosques. Brigitte however was reticent to him as well, and Keita became suspicious when Brigitte asked if he could borrow his driving licence. Eventually in May 2003 Brigitte left Paris for Australia, using a ticket provided to him by Mir. He did not tell Keita where he was going.
, better known as Abu Hamza, a Pakistan
i-born, Australian-naturalized contact of Mir, living in South-western Sydney. He worked at a halal
restaurant in the center of Sydney, and along with fraternising with a select number of associates of Hamza, he kept in constant contact with Mir by phone. Brigitte also had an interest in aboriginal issues, and he joined and trained at a gym run by Tony Mundine
(father of the Australian boxer Anthony Mundine
). Hamza for his part continued working as an architect
, but also made queries about acquiring large quantities of ammonium nitrate, an ingredient to make a bomb.
In order to stay longer in Australia, he sought a marriage of convenience
with Melanie Brown, who was introduced through mutual acquaintances in the Islamic community. Brown like Brigitte was a convert to Islam, and had served in the Australian Army
as a signaller in East Timor
. She took her conversion to Islam quite seriously, and was eager to marry a Muslim man, although Abu Hamza saw her as a possible security risk and somebody who would take up space in his apartment. Ten days after meeting each other Brigitte and Brown were married in an Islamic ceremony on 30 August 2003.
Brigitte aggressively sought information from Brown about the Australian Army, its equipment and its operations, including details of the Pine Gap
joint defence facility. Brown, aware of her obligations not to pass on classified information, managed not to pass on anything substantially secret - she took the precaution of destroying her notebooks of her time in East Timor
. Brigitte and Hamza were often busy liaising with other associates in the Islamic community, and kept Brown at arms length.
investigations on others was stepped up. It wasn't until 3 September 2003 that the pseudonym 'Abderrahman the West Indian' was connected with Willie Brigitte. On 16 September 2003 French intelligence identified that Brigitte had bought a one way ticket to Australia, and six days later the Australian embassy was notified by mail about Brigitte and his background, seeking confirmation that Brigitte was still in Australia. Thinking that it was a routine trace request the Australian authorities did not immediately respond. Impatient, ten days later the French sent a secondary communication - this time directly to ASIO
, Australia's security intelligence body. The message arrived at ASIO headquarters on 11pm on 3 October 2003 - the Friday evening of the Labour Day long weekend.
Brigitte was promptly arrested on grounds of breaching the non-employment stipulations of his tourist visa, and sent to Villawood Immigration Detention Centre
. He was held incommunicado, and was interviewed by ASIO officers - Brigitte was largely uncooperative though he was represented by his lawyer Harry Durimel
. Abu Hamza was put under surveillance.
Brigitte was subsequently deported and sent back to France that month, where he was arrested on arrival. When his arrest became public the Australian authorities moved against Hamza and several of his associates, arresting them in a series of dawn raids in Sydney's south west. In 2006 Hamza was sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment after being found guilty of planning a terrorist attack on Australia's electricity grid.
Brigitte's case came to trial in February 2007, charged under French law of "associating with criminals in relation to a terrorist enterprise". On 15 March he was found guilty and sentenced to a nine-year prison sentence. He remains legally married to Brown.
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
who associated with the al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
and was possibly involved in a plot to conduct a terrorist operation in Australia.
French prosecutors called for Brigitte, currently in custody, to be sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for his admission of his involvement in a terrorist organization.
Background
Brigitte was born on the Caribbean island of GuadeloupeGuadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
, an overseas territory of France
Overseas departments and territories of France
The French Overseas Departments and Territories consist broadly of French-administered territories outside of the European continent. These territories have varying legal status and different levels of autonomy, although all have representation in the Parliament of France , and consequently the...
. He moved to Paris for his final year of schooling, but chose to join the navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
instead of sitting for the baccalaureate
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
. He served for three years, having deserted the military twice.
After returning to civilian life in 1993 he worked in a variety of jobs, and had stints as a butcher, social worker, printer, drug rehabilitation facilitator, teacher and warehouse worker. He married a Syrian Muslim woman, with whom he had one child, but at the time neither of them were particularly religious. They divorced in 1996.
He read widely, including the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
, and at the age of thirty in 1998 he decided to embrace Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
in full. Brigitte adopted several new names including Mohammed Abderrahman, Mohammed Ibrahim Abderrahman, Abou Maimouna, Salahouddin, Jamal and 'Abderrahman the West Indian'. He attended an Islamic school in Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
.
Brigitte married for a second time in 1999. They had two children and divorced in 2001.
Recruited to Al Qaeda
Brigitte attended the Omar and Abou Bakr mosques in the poor and largely immigrant Paris banlieueBanlieue
In francophone areas, banlieues are the "outskirts" of a city: the zone around a city that is under the city's rule.Banlieues are translated as "suburbs", as these are also residential areas on the outer edge of a city, but the connotations of the term "banlieue" in France can be different from...
of Couronnes, to study both Islam and Arabic. The mosques was infamous for preaching a mixture of militant and puritanical Islamist dogma, infused with anti-imperialist and anti-Western sentiment
Anti-Western sentiment
Anti-Western sentiment refers to broad opposition or hostility to the people, policies, or governments in the western world. In many cases the United States, Israël and the United Kingdom are the subject of discussion or hostility...
s. It was in Couronnes that Brigitte came in contact with persons with links to the Algerian-based Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat. He was taken on oddly strenuous camping trips, believed by French intelligence to be designed by Islamist recruiters to identify suitable fighters. It is believed he helped procure two Belgian passports that were used by the assassins who managed to get close to, and kill, Afghan Northern Alliance
Northern Alliance
The Afghan Northern Alliance is a military-political umbrella organization created by the Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1996.Northern Alliance may also refer to:*Northern Alliance , a Canadian white supremacist group...
warlord Ahmed Shah Massoud
Ahmed Shah Massoud
Ahmad Shah Massoud was a Kabul University engineering student turned military leader who played a leading role in driving the Soviet army out of Afghanistan, earning him the name Lion of Panjshir. His followers call him Āmir Sāhib-e Shahīd...
.
Brigitte headed to Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks to assist the Taliban. He was prevented from entering Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
due to the war, and instead spent four months training in a Lashkar-e-Taiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba – also transliterated as Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkar-i-Taiba, Lashkar Taiba or LeT – is one of the largest and most active militant Islamist terrorist organizations in South Asia, operating mainly from Pakistan.It was founded by Hafiz Muhammad...
camp in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, where he received instruction in weapons handling and explosives. Sajid Mir, an LET operative responsible for managing foreigners, marked him as a potential al-Qaeda operative.
In early 2002 Brigitte returned to Paris. Keeping a low profile, he shunned contact with his family and lived in a hostel with Ibrahim Keita, another convert to Islam who Brigitte met on the various camping expeditions organized by the Couronnes mosques. Brigitte however was reticent to him as well, and Keita became suspicious when Brigitte asked if he could borrow his driving licence. Eventually in May 2003 Brigitte left Paris for Australia, using a ticket provided to him by Mir. He did not tell Keita where he was going.
In Australia
Brigitte is believed to have stayed with Faheem Khalid LodhiFaheem Khalid Lodhi
Faheem Khalid Lodhi is a Pakistani-Australian architect and the first convicted Australian terrorist under new legislation enacted in 2005....
, better known as Abu Hamza, a Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i-born, Australian-naturalized contact of Mir, living in South-western Sydney. He worked at a halal
Halal
Halal is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...
restaurant in the center of Sydney, and along with fraternising with a select number of associates of Hamza, he kept in constant contact with Mir by phone. Brigitte also had an interest in aboriginal issues, and he joined and trained at a gym run by Tony Mundine
Tony Mundine
Tony Mundine may refer to:* Tony Mundine * Anthony Mundine, his son, boxer and former rugby league player with the St George Illawarra Dragons...
(father of the Australian boxer Anthony Mundine
Anthony Mundine
Anthony Mundine is an Australian professional boxer and former rugby league footballer.He is the current interim WBA Light Middleweight Champion boxer, former two-time WBA Super Middleweight Champion, former IBO Middleweight Champion and New South Wales State of Origin representative footballer....
). Hamza for his part continued working as an architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, but also made queries about acquiring large quantities of ammonium nitrate, an ingredient to make a bomb.
In order to stay longer in Australia, he sought a marriage of convenience
Marriage of convenience
A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than the reasons of relationship, family, or love. Instead, such a marriage is orchestrated for personal gain or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as political marriage. The phrase is a calque of - a marriage of...
with Melanie Brown, who was introduced through mutual acquaintances in the Islamic community. Brown like Brigitte was a convert to Islam, and had served in the Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
as a signaller in East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
. She took her conversion to Islam quite seriously, and was eager to marry a Muslim man, although Abu Hamza saw her as a possible security risk and somebody who would take up space in his apartment. Ten days after meeting each other Brigitte and Brown were married in an Islamic ceremony on 30 August 2003.
Brigitte aggressively sought information from Brown about the Australian Army, its equipment and its operations, including details of the Pine Gap
Pine Gap
Pine Gap is the commonly used name for a satellite tracking station at, some south-west of the town of Alice Springs in the centre of Australia which is operated by both Australia and the United States. The facility has become a key part of the local economy.It consists of a large computer complex...
joint defence facility. Brown, aware of her obligations not to pass on classified information, managed not to pass on anything substantially secret - she took the precaution of destroying her notebooks of her time in East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
. Brigitte and Hamza were often busy liaising with other associates in the Islamic community, and kept Brown at arms length.
Arrest and deportation
The DST, France's internal security agency, had been passively monitoring 'Abderrahman the West Indian' since 1998. After fellow members of the Couronnes terror cell were found fighting for al-Qaeda in AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
investigations on others was stepped up. It wasn't until 3 September 2003 that the pseudonym 'Abderrahman the West Indian' was connected with Willie Brigitte. On 16 September 2003 French intelligence identified that Brigitte had bought a one way ticket to Australia, and six days later the Australian embassy was notified by mail about Brigitte and his background, seeking confirmation that Brigitte was still in Australia. Thinking that it was a routine trace request the Australian authorities did not immediately respond. Impatient, ten days later the French sent a secondary communication - this time directly to ASIO
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation is Australia's national security service, which is responsible for the protection of the country and its citizens from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign interference, politically-motivated violence, attacks on the Australian defence system, and...
, Australia's security intelligence body. The message arrived at ASIO headquarters on 11pm on 3 October 2003 - the Friday evening of the Labour Day long weekend.
Brigitte was promptly arrested on grounds of breaching the non-employment stipulations of his tourist visa, and sent to Villawood Immigration Detention Centre
Villawood Immigration Detention Centre
Villawood Immigration Detention Centre is an Australian immigration detention facility located in the suburb of Villawood in Sydney, Australia...
. He was held incommunicado, and was interviewed by ASIO officers - Brigitte was largely uncooperative though he was represented by his lawyer Harry Durimel
Harry Durimel
Harry Durimel is a founding member and spokesperson of The Greens on Guadeloupe. A lawyer, Durimel obtained a Masters in Labor Law from University Paris I-Pantheon-Sorbonne....
. Abu Hamza was put under surveillance.
Brigitte was subsequently deported and sent back to France that month, where he was arrested on arrival. When his arrest became public the Australian authorities moved against Hamza and several of his associates, arresting them in a series of dawn raids in Sydney's south west. In 2006 Hamza was sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment after being found guilty of planning a terrorist attack on Australia's electricity grid.
Brigitte's case came to trial in February 2007, charged under French law of "associating with criminals in relation to a terrorist enterprise". On 15 March he was found guilty and sentenced to a nine-year prison sentence. He remains legally married to Brown.