MyCentre leader Samir Mohtadi, who also goes by Abu Hamza, says claims associating him with flyDubai pilot are unfounded

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The leader of a Melbourne Islamic centre allegedly linked to the accused Flydubai hijacker has rejected any connection with the radicalised pilot, saying he never met the suspect, and condemned “violence in all its forms”.

The UAE government has alleged that investigators had traced the ideological and professional background of the 29-year-old suspect, Omani national Hammam al-Hammami, and that his “drift towards extremism and terrorism” began while a student at RMIT University in Melbourne in 2017.