Just before reading out her sentence, Judge Catherine Richards stated she has “no doubt” Kashti was targeted due to their “understanding of his wealth and Jewish heritage.”
A Telegram group chat set up between the defendants planned the crime “in minute detail”, which was the “beginning of a careful and elaborate plot on the part of these defendants to secure [Kashti’s] attendance,” the prosecution said.
In the group chat, Shah, Comrie, and Ogunnubi-Sime discussed in depth a chilling “shopping list” of equipment they would need to restrain Kashti, including hyper-realistic face masks to conceal their identities, gloves, a gag, handcuffs, zip ties, a blindfold, and ketamine with which to drug Kashti. They later discussed the requirement for food and water, indicating, the court heard, their intention for the kidnapping to last several days.
The messages also “indicate a strong degree of planning to launder any money extorted from [Kashti] or his family” via cryptocurrency.
The three men were sentenced at Swansea Crown Court (Alamy)Alamy Stock Photo
The court heard that in addition to financial motivation for the kidnapping and assault, there was a “clear political and religious motivation.”
“Anyone listening to this case would be horrified by what they heard and by the motivation behind it,” Judge Richards said, adding the defendants “seemed to justify action against the victim in this case based on his background as if he was less worthy of your respect and compassion, and [that is] utterly abhorrent to any right-thinking person.”
Kashti suffered injuries to his face and head, including a swollen eyelid which wouldn’t open for several days, a cut on his scalp, pain in his legs for weeks after, and bruised knees and upper back. The trio threatened to kill Kashti if he tried to escape.
After assaulting him, they handcuffed him to a radiator but, once they were out of the room, he managed to free himself, locate his phone – which had been taken from him – and escape.
The court heard how Kashti, limping and still bleeding, fled the property and concealed himself in the bushes some distance away before calling his wife, who subsequently called the police.
The three men, realising that Kashti had escaped, attempted to shelter in local fields. A “significant” amount of police resources went into finding them later that evening, including the deployment of a police helicopter.
In a statement from Kashti read out by the prosecuting lawyer Craig Jones, the court heard how he was in “complete shock and fear and felt as though he was going to end up dead.”
“As an Israeli Jew, this was my own personal October 7,” Kashti said in his victim i mpact statement, going on to say that October 7 “was flashing through my mind” as he was restrained. Jones said Kashti also said he was thinking about his “Jewish ancestors who suffered in the Holocaust” during the ordeal.
The “brutal and unnecessary” attack had “a strong and devastating impact” on Kashti. The court heard how he described the few seconds of a “silent strange feeling” when he entered the cottage before being ambushed, “like a horror film”.
As a result of the attack, he has attended therapy sessions and remains conscious about his appearance, his self-esteem and confidence are “at an utter low”, and he suffers “anxieties” he never had previously.
“A heavy weight has been added to my shoulders which is unlikely to go away any time soon,” he said. “As though something dramatic is about to happen at all times.”
The court heard how the trio lured Kashti to a remote Airbnb property in west Wales using a false identity and how they had painstakingly conspired with each other on how best to convince Kashti that the week-long music-producing opportunity was legitimate.
The court also heard that in addition to financial motivation for the kidnapping and assault, there was a “clear political and religious motivation,”
They alleged that Kashti had been “at f***ing pro-Israel marches in London” and also claimed they “know he’s involved in West Bank settlements.”
“Actually, I could bet his fortune came from West Bank settlements taking Palestinian land,” one message read.
They further write they had “no remorse for a man like this – he ain’t just some Jew doing it for the bag, he actually loves this s**t.”
They conspired to keep the motivations for the kidnapping “clean” and only about the money to make it appear as “a non-politically motivated kidnap”.
Simi wrote that if Kashti were to realise “the Islamic angle, the eventual retaliation and effort into retaliation is 10 times worse.”
“We shouldn’t colour this as an Islamic thing. Don’t say Islamic phrases around him, so we’re just in it for the money,” the messages said, as read by Prosecutor Jones.
Intended to act as “inspiration” for the crime, pinned to the top of the Telegram group chat was an Islamic “litany for victory”, which they suggested they recite or listen to every day while “keeping in mind your intention of jihad,” the prosecution said.
Assuring the group, Simi messaged: “All three of us have complete 100 per cent faith in Allah, so we can’t fail.”
One message sent to the Telegram chat read: “If gun feds come, then Itay is cooked. Because I’m not going to pen without either his bread or his soul,” which the court understood to mean that if armed law enforcement interfered with their plan, then they would kill Kashti.
A “necessary and proportionate” restraining order of 15 years was also handed out to the trio in addition to the sentences of over eight years.
In the defence of the trio, the court heard that the group was “highly sophisticated in their preparation, and highly amateurish in [their] execution” of the plan.
Speaking outside the courthouse, inspector Gareth Jones of South Wales police said: “It is clear this offence has a profound, lasting and harrowing impact on the victim and his family.”
“This sentence today reflects the severity of this event, and we hope it gives the victim a sense of justice. We thank him for his strength, his bravery and his patience, whilst we carried out a thorough investigation in what was an extraordinary case.”
Welcoming the sentencing, CST, which provided support to Kashti following the incident, said: “This is a shocking and deeply troubling crime that the police have confirmed also had an antisemitic element due to the victim’s identity as an Israeli Jew. The victim suffered a terrible ordeal in which he was kidnapped, handcuffed, seriously assaulted, and even threatened with death by the perpetrators.”
The defendants were arrested on August 26 last year after Dyfed-Powys Police responded to reports of assault at a property in the Brynteg area of Llanybydder, a small market town in southwest Wales.
On the first day of their trial at Swansea Crown Court last month, before any evidence was heard, the three defendants plead guilty to kidnapping. Judge Richards said then the trio would inevitably be facing custodial sentences due to the severity of the crime, the only question would be the length of those sentences.
