السجن لسائق سوداني وزوجته بلندن لابتزازه عائلة قطرية

Quote: Chauffeur and wife face jail for blackmailing Qatari royals for £600,000 over ‘private’ photos on USB sticks that were left in car Chauffeur Awad Abdulbagy drove family’s photographer during 2013 trip Found ‘private’ photos of royals on cameras and USB sticks left in car He and his wife boasted they could sell images to TV stations and enemies The couple demanded £600,000 ‘reward’ for pictures through embassy By Stephanie Linning for MailOnline Published: 13:18, 31 March 2015 | A couple are facing jail after they blackmailed the Qatari royal family for £600,000 over ‘private’ photos left in a car. Chauffeur Awad Abdulbagy, 48, found the images on cameras and USB sticks during a visit by the royal family to London in May 2013. Abdulbagy and wife Nasren Mohammed, 34, boasted they could sell the photos to TV stations and enemies of the country and demanded a ‘reward’ through the nation’s embassy in Mayfair. Plot: Chauffeur Awad Abdulbagy, 48, and his wife, Nasren Mohammed, 34, both pictured outside Southwark Crown Court today. The couple face jail after being found guilty of blackmailing the Qatari royal family. The victim of the plot cannot be named, but Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Hajri told jurors it was a ‘very sensitive’ situation. Abdulbagy and Mohammed, both from west London, were found guilty at Southwark Crown Court today. A third defendant, Syrian-born Khaled Watter, 50, also from London, was cleared. Mr Al-Hajri told the court: ‘It is very natural that these are shameful, they are private photographs. ‘There are so many enemies of Qatar and these are private photos and you know that can be really very bad in our society – we are very conservative.’ Prosecutor Gareth Patterson said Qatar is a ‘particularly wealthy state’ and explained members of the royal family and the household often come to the UK. On the trip in May 2013 there were not enough of the regular drivers, so self-employed Abdulbagy was given the job and drove a hired Mercedes E Class, jurors heard. Abdulbagy ferried the official photographer for the family around London and took him to Stanstead Airport at the end of the stay. Negotiation: Diplomat Ali Al-Hajri, pictured outside court today, said it was a ‘very sensitive’ situation. ‘It was sometime during that period that the defendant Mr Abdulbagy came into possession of camera equipment,’ said Mr Patterson. On the day the photographer left, Abdulbagy made the first of a series of phone calls to the embassy to try and ‘extract’ money for the images. The prosecution had alleged that Mr Watter was involved in the calls. Abdulbagy described the photos as being ‘like treasure’ and demanded a ‘present or reward’. ‘He said he didn’t have a house, didn’t have any money, said he wanted to do it in the halal way -or the clean way – and he spoke about the value of the photographs,’ said Mr Patterson. At the embassy he was handed a ‘settlement deed’ which he signed agreeing to hand over the cameras and memory sticks in the hope of a ‘finders fee’. But he broke the terms of the legal contract and retained a camera, later taunting the diplomat by sending him a photo of it. Mohammed even text her husband to say she had ‘got a back up’ of the snaps. Mr Al-Hajri told the jury that when he spoke to the couple, Abdulbagy made it clear he wanted money. He said: ‘At the beginning it was obvious they wanted money for these photos and naturally my role was to discuss with them, you know what they wanted. ‘When I ask them what it is they exactly want and what do they have he said that they wanted to finish the matter in return for some money. ‘I asked them how much do they want, he said £600,000 and then I was surprised so I repeated the question, he said £300,000.’ He added that Abdulbagy also sent him threatening messages in Arabic. ‘The wording is very clear when he says “I’m not going to wait any longer” – this is clear blackmail,’ he said. Abdulbagy ‘applied pressure in his desire to extract money’, said Mr Patterson. He then resumed the campaign for cash, sending messages and making telephone calls. Abdulbagy and Wattar were arrested following a third and final meeting at the embassy. A search of a car parked at the nearby Dorchester Hotel revealed the missing items. Sudanese national Abdulbagy denied theft and Mohammed denied a further charge of handling stolen goods. Not guilty pleas were entered to both charges following a direction by the judge. Abdulbagy and Mohammed will be sentenced on 1 May.