APPREHENDED
- Full name: Kévin Gonot
- Pseudonym: Abu Sufian, Hassan
- Alternatives: N/a
- Location: Iraq, fmr Syria, fmr France, fmr Egypt
- Affiliation: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [DaIISh], Artigat and Toulouse Network [FAT], fmr Support Front for the People of the Levant [JaNS]
Kévin Gonot (°ca 1986) was a jihadi from the French department of the Lot. Under the influence of his half-brother Thomas Collagne, he converted to Islam around 2002.1 Collagne reportedly also helped Gonot come into contact with members of the Artigat and Toulouse Network [FAT; Filière d’Artigat et Toulouse].2 He received religious instruction by Olivier Corel and became close to Michel Clain.3 Gonot went on to marry Jennifer Clain, Michel’s niece.4 He also helped his parents become Muslims.5
In 2004, Gonot made a first trip to Syria.6 Ostensibly in the country to study Islam, the exact nature of his trip remains unknown. Between 2005 and 2007, Gonot lived in Cairo where he studied Arabic at an Islamist seminary.7 In Egypt, Gonot was in the company of many FAT associates, including Clain. He eventually returned to France and was apparently involved in the FAT’s efforts to send Muslim volunteers from Europe to the ranks of al-Qa’ida forces in Iraq.8 On Oct. 24, 2007, Gonot was arrested when French security forces raided his home during a series of operations against the network.9 The authorities later released him. The next years, Gonot kept a low profile and worked as a driver for a dry-cleaning company.10
Between May and September 2013, Gonot made four trips to Egypt where he met an acquaintance who convinced him to join the jihadi forces in Syria.11 In November 2013, Gonot traveled to Syria via Turkey and joined the al-Qa’ida-associated Support Front for the People of the Levant [JaNS; Jabhat al-Nusra li-Ahli ash-Sham].12 He received training and acted as a translator for other foreign fighters flocking to the group.13 Gonot took part in military actions for the JaNS in and around Aleppo.14
Gonot left the JaNS and pledged allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [DaIISh; Dawlat al-Islamiya fi-Iraq wal ash-Sham] after it had declared the establishment of the caliphate in the summer of 2014.15 He was joined by many of his associates from France as well as his half-brother, his wife and children and his parents.16 Gonot served the DaIISh by fighting on the frontlines. In 2015, he was seriously injured in fighting with Kurdish forces at Kobane.17 Gonot was sent to Mosul for medical treatment.18 A French court sentenced him in absentia to nine years in prison in April 2016.19
On Dec. 13, 2017, Gonot and Collagne were caught by Kurdish forces in the Hasaka governorate of Syria.20 The Kurds handed them over to the Iraqi authorities in February 2019.21 A court sentenced Gonot to death on May 26, 2019.22
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