During his travels, the champion continued to update his position via social media. A photo of him, published last May, also portrayed him in Bangkok. Tired, but happy.
Gashi never returned to Thailand. Together with three other Thai boxers (his students) he reached war-torn Syria and joined the terrorist group of the Islamic State. He wrote in one of his latest posts. "Don't judge me before you know the whole story. If I die for good, then I'll be happy with everything I've done."
To his ex-fans who insulted him on the facebook wall, he replied calmly: "Attach me and hurt me if that makes you feel good. If you really knew me, you would know that my choice is not unreasonable. "
The information on what Gashi really did is very poor and uncertain. According to the most accredited sources, he would have been responsible for a Turkish border crossing along the Euphrates River, preventing the illegal trafficking of cigarettes, drugs and alcohol (banned in the Caliphate) in the Manbij area. According to other sources, he would have also fought in various parts of Syria.
He would also be in contact with the extremist Samuel Althof and would participate, albeit not in the first person, in several beheadings.
Communications with the man, who grew up in Germany after leaving Kosovo at the age of six, stopped at the beginning of the month. Mobile phone off, social profile deleted. According to the family, Gashi would have been killed for reasons that are still unclear.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the boxer was reportedly executed by the Islamic State after attempting to escape from Aleppo. According to the International Business Times, the Observatory's claims are based on "reliable sources". Thesis shared by the Russian press. According to the latter, the two-time Thai boxing world champion "would have been shocked by the violence of the Islamic State".
After being captured, he would be held captive in the city of Manbeg before being executed by his own former terrorist comrades.
In recent months, the athlete's family had intervened several times with public appeals, to try to convince the man to return home. The last appeal was that of his father, Enwar Gashi, who urged him to return home and help the Muslims in Germany.
However, the news remains very confused. For the Syrian Observatory, the man is still alive, but he is trying to escape. The 29-year-old's role in the Islamic State is not yet clear.
Initially, in an interview with the Swiss "20 minutes" website, the man said he was working on behalf of the "Public Relations Department of the Islamic State". It would seem, however, his involvement as a border guard along the Turkish border.
Valdet Gashi would have been killed on the 27 last June. According to the Federal Information Service, the Germans consecrated to ISIS are about 650.
Franco Iacch
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