Activist uses pic of Kinahan gangster in 'war crimes' claim
The photo - alleged to feature Major General Shitan Shaul - was put up on a Twitter/X account last week and has now gone viral, but it actually shows Kinahan gangster Johnny Morrissey being arrested in Spain in 2022.
The post, by a user who describes himself as a socialist and author who supports Jeremy Corbyn and is a former member of the British Labour Party, was published late last week – and has already been viewed more than 276,000 times.
It claims the general was arrested after he was spotted on a beach in The Hague in the Netherlands.
It claims he was arrested over alleged war crimes committed in Rafah, southern Gaza, which has been pounded by Israel since Hamas' murderous attack on the Jewish state in October 2023 that left more than 1,200 people dead. Israel has mounted a massive attack on Gaza ever since and more than 60,000 people have died.
The reaction to the Israeli onslaught has seen the country pilloried around the world – and condemned on social media.
And now an activist has taken to Twitter to use an image of key Kinahan ally Johnny Morrisey – one of seven men named publicly as being part of the €1 billion cartel – against the Israeli commander.
The tweet is accompanied by a photo of Morrissey with his eyes blacked out and says: 'Dutch police have arrested Israeli Major General Shitan Shaul commander of the Armored Corp this morning on charges of committing war crime in Rafah.
'Charges were brought forward by a human rights organization as he was spotted enjoying his summer vacation on The Hague beach.'
But X users quickly spotted the photo was wrong – and community noted the post. That's when other X users point out mistakes in someone else's post.
The note, visible underneath the post, says: 'Originally taken on September 15, 2022, this photo depicts the arrest of Johnny Morrissey ("Johnny Cash") by Spanish police. A prominent figure in the Irish Kinahan cartel, Morrissey was arrested at his home in Costa Del Sol, Spain over a €200m money-laundering scheme.'
Morrissey, 64, was arrested by the Guardia Civil in September 2022 as part of a probe into suspicions he was involved in money laundering and was involved in a crime gang – the cartel led by Daniel Kinahan.
The Irish citizen was finally released on bail in November 2024, but investigations are ongoing.
In April 2022, US authorities named him as a key member of the cartel. They claimed he was materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support to the gang and also alleged he was once an enforcer for them.
He was one of seven men sanctioned by US authorities – including Daniel Kinahan, 47 and his father Christy, 67 and brother Christopher, 44.
The US also put a $5 million bounty on the heads of the three Kinahan men – who are believed to be holed up in Dubai.
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