London: The killing of British Muslim Islamic State (ISIS) terror suspect Mohammed Emwazi, referred to as Jihadi John, was today at the centre of a new row after news reports raised doubts over his death in a US drone strike last year.
The British University Emwazi was enrolled in has refused to divulge information about him, claiming it would breach the UK's data protection laws as they have no definitive proof of his death.
The controversy arose following a Freedom of Information request to University of Westminster in London by the BBC.
The University management told BBC: "To date, no authoritative confirmation or evidence has been given to the university, or made public, that the student known to the University of Westminster as Mohammed Emwazi is now dead.
"Without any firm evidence or authoritative official confirmation that Emwazi is definitely deceased, the university maintains that the information requested remains bound by data protection restrictions."
The UK's Data Protection Act applies to living people to ensure fair use of information.
However, followingan appeal by the BBC, the University's stance has also been been backed by the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
It has issued adecisionstating that "the commissioner agrees with the university's approach".
The commissioner's decision notice also argues that - presuming Emwazi may still be alive - releasing personal information about him would be "unfair".
It states: "Although there may be legitimate public interest arguments in favour of disclosure, the commissioner has decided that these are outweighed by the distress and upset disclosure could cause and the unwarranted intrusion into the private life of a young individual."
An ICO spokesperson said: "The FOI Act is designed to promote transparency and openness, but is also balanced to avoid the inappropriate release of personal information. Anyone who is not happy with a decision can appeal to the information rights tribunal."
Emwazi studied computer science at Westminster from 2006 to 2009.
Part of his academic file had already been leaked and published in the media.
But the University has refused to disclose his personal records on the grounds that he could still be alive, despite the fact that the US military said it killed Emwazi in a drone strike in the Syrian city of Raqqa in November 2015.
In December 2015, US President Obama named Emwazi as one of a number of leaders of the Islamic State group or operatives that the US had been "taking out" and "removed".
A University of Westminster spokesperson said: "We are complying with our legal obligations and the ICO decision confirms that this is the correct approach.
