A Belgian expert on jihad with links to Radboud University in Nijmegen has been arrested in connection with an investigation into terrorism in Belgium, magazine Elsevier says on Monday.

Montasser AlDe’emeh is suspected of helping a jihadi get out of jail by providing a false statement that he had attended a deradicalisation course, Belgian broadcaster VRT says.

Radboud said in a statement it is not aware of the facts and that the arrest is ‘a matter for police’. ‘It is not the first time academics who research radicalisation have ended up in the police spotlight,’ the spokesman said.

Ideology

AlDe’emeh, who is not on staff at Radboud and is not paid for his work, is researching the interpretation of jihadist ideology by young Muslims. He is also founder of the centre De Weg Naar in the Belgian town of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, which helps people returning from Syria.

In total, three people have been arrested in connection with the case.