{
  "id": 2011523,
  "title": "UAE-funded mercenary targeted British activist in London, report says",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/uae-funded-mercenary-targeted-british-activist-in-london-report-says",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-19T20:02:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Middle East Eye",
    "slug": "middle-east-eye",
    "url": "https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uae-funded-mercenary-targeted-british-activist-anas-altikriti-london"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "An investigation by ITV News revealed that a mercenary hired by the United Arab Emirates carried out a covert surveillance operation against British-Muslim activist Anas al-Tikriti in London. Abraham Golan, a dual Hungarian-Israeli citizen who ran the private security company Spear Operations Group, was reportedly paid millions of dollars by the UAE to target Tikriti, the CEO of the Cordoba Foundation think tank. Golan traveled to London in December 2016 and engaged a former US special forces operative to help locate and monitor Tikriti. The mercenary allegedly discussed the possibility of physically eliminating Tikriti and shared personal information about him, including photographs and maps of his home and car. Tikriti expressed fear and distress over the operation, stating that he felt physically sick after seeing the gathered messages and photographs. The investigation found that the surveillance operation was part of a broader campaign by the UAE against the Muslim Brotherhood, which has designated several organizations, including the Cordoba Foundation, as terrorist groups.",
  "summary": "UAE-funded mercenary targeted British activist in London, report says Submitted by MEE staff on Wed, 08/19/2026 - 20:05 UAE allegedly funded an operation to surveil British-Muslim activist Anas al-Tikriti, with a US mercenary reportedly discussing the possibility of killing him, ITV News reports Anas al-Tikriti told ITV News that he felt physically sick after being shown messages and photographs…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}