- Campaign group CAGE supports a number of convicted terrorists
- Leader Asim Qureshi described Jihadi John as a 'beautiful young man'
- Group also supports radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza and Aafia Siddiqui
- Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg founded the group
- Major donors include the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and Body Shop founder Anita Roddick's charitable foundation
Human rights group CAGE has come under further scrutiny for the support it gives to a number of convicted terrorists, including radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza (pictured)
It is the campaign group that sparked outrage by describing ISIS executioner Jihadi John as a 'beautiful young man' while blaming the beheadings on British Intelligence.
But CAGE has come under further scrutiny for the support it gives to a number of convicted terrorists and other jihadis still at large,
including radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza and Aafia Siddiqui dubbed 'Lady al Qaeda'.
Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg, who was charged with terror offences, founded the Islamic rights group and it has been funded by some well-known British charitable trusts.
The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust has donated more than £300,000 to the group, and The Roddick Foundation - which distributes part of Body Shop founder Anita Roddick's fortune - has donated £100,000.
Asim Qureshi, leader of CAGE, who helped to name Jihadi John as west London student Mohammed Emwazi, caused outrage yesterday by saying the ISIS militant 'wouldn't hurt a fly'.
Critics have alleged that CAGE is an extremist organisation that promotes a radical Islamist narrative and have questioned whether it could have done more to prevent Emwazi travelling to Syria.
The group is animated about the case of Aafia Siddiqui - dubbed 'Lady al Qaeda' - who was jailed for 86 years in the US for attempting to murder US officials in Afghanistan.
She had wide-ranging links to al-Qaeda and was married to a key plotter behind the 9/11 attacks.
But CAGE said it has 'dedicated itself to campaigning for Aafia and her family in order to help secure their release and expose those involved in their abuse.'
The group also represented the family of Michael Adebolajo - the man who butchered Lee Rigby in a London street in May 2013.
CAGE revealed that Adebolajo had been harassed by the security services prior to his violent action.
The campaign group also defended radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri who was sentenced to life in prison by a court in New York for supporting terrorism.
He was convicted in May 2014 of multiple charges, including hostage-taking and plotting to set up a terrorism training camp in the US
But CAGE called for him to be repatriated to Britain after the handless suspect appeared before a judge without the false limbs and complained that he wanted them back.
At the time Mr Qureshi said: 'We would want to see him, if convicted, serving any sentence in the UK, particularly when you consider the kind of treatment detainees face in US prisons.'
Others that CAGE support include Nizar Trabelsi who was convicted in Belgium as part of an al-Qaeda plot to carry out a suicide attack against a military base holding US soldiers.
This comes to light as CAGE representative Cerie Bullivant told Good Morning Britain he believes the British security forces played a role in radicalising Jihadi John.
Asim Qureshi, leader of CAGE, who helped to name Jihadi John as west London student Mohammed Emwazi, caused outrage yesterday by saying the ISIS militant 'wouldn't hurt a fly'
'He came to us after he felt he was being harassed by the security services; he felt there was pressure being put on him and he couldn't carry on with his ordinary life,' Mr Bullivant said.
'We advised him on methods he could take if he was innocent to clear his name, we advised him to go to his MP, the IPCC - he was very, very willing to engage with the system to try and get his name cleared. He sent letters to the embassies as to why he was being barred, he tried as much as he could to work through the system.'
The Islamic rights group was founded by former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg (pictured), who was charged with terror offences
'But the problem is you've got a detached unaccountable security apparatus and there was no clear was for him to engage with that process and the lack of due process we think played a role in radicalising him.'
Anti-radicalisation organisation the Quilliam Foundation questioned whether the organisation could have done more to prevent Emwazi travelling to Syria.
'They seem to have had a relationship with him for three years - since before he went to Syria - and I simply don't believe that nothing could have been done in that process to stop him,' chief political liaison officer Jonathan Russell told the Evening Standard.
'It's very, very important to uphold human rights in counter-extremism work, but for an organisation like CAGE to focus entirely on grievances and allow those to be extrapolated in a radicalisation process is surely part of the problem and not part of the solution.'
CAGE has also supported Sajid Badat, who was sentenced to 13 years in 2005 after confessing to being part of the plot to blow up an aircraft with a shoe-bomb.
It has also backed Andrew Rowe, the convert also given 13 years for acts preparatory to terrorism.
The CAGE website demands solidarity for several jihadis who have been both tried and convicted, and for many more who are at large.
It also supported Anwar al-Awlaki, who called for the killing of the Danish cartoonist, Kurt Westergaard.
Awlaki, who was killed by an American drone in September 2011, is thought to have inspired the Charlie Hebdo attacks.
The Islamic-focused human rights group lodged a formal complaint with the financial ombudsman last year after spending five months on a cash-only basis.
It was one of a number of Muslim pressure groups and charities to have had their accounts withdrawn by various banks.
The group also represented the family of Michael Adebolajo (pictured) - the man who butchered Lee Rigby in a London street in May 2013
CAGE representative Cerie Bullivant (pictured) today told Good Morning Britain he believes the British security forces played a role in radicalising Jihadi John
CAGE had its accounts with Barclays and the Co-operative Bank – and those of several of its board members – closed several weeks after Moazzam Begg was arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences.
The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust handed the group a £300,000 in January 2014.
A spokesman for the trust said: 'As a Quaker trust, we reject and condemn all violence, including all violence for political ends. We believe that building sustainable security requires patient, long-term work to address the underlying causes of conflict and injustice.
'Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust has previously funded CAGE to promote and protect human rights. We believe that they have played an important role in highlighting the ongoing abuses at Guantanamo Bay and at many other sites around the world, including many instances of torture.
'The Trust does not necessarily agree with every action or statement of any group that we have funded.
'We believe that CAGE is asking legitimate questions about security service contact with those who have gone on to commit high-profile and horrific acts of violence, but this does not in any way absolve any such individual from responsibility for such criminal acts.'
CAGE was not available when approached for a comment.
On the campaign group's website, it says: 'CAGE has been campaigning against the War on Terror for more than a decade.
'Its work has focussed on working with survivors of abuse and mistreatment across the globe. Its website is one of the leading resources documenting the abuse of due process and the erosion of the rule of law in the context of the War on Terror.'
CAGE also supported Anwar al-Awlaki (pictured), who called for the killing of the Danish cartoonist, Kurt Westergaard
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