'Jihadi John's' father Jasem Emwazi 'in state of shock'

Emwazi is believed to be the masked jihadist in several IS beheading videos

The father of Mohammed Emwazi, dubbed "Jihadi John", has been questioned by Kuwaiti officials who are trying to put together a profile of his son.

Jasem Emwazi met BBC journalist Mark Lowen briefly in Kuwait ahead of an interview with his lawyer.

Mr Emwazi's lawyer said he was in a "state of shock" after being questioned by officials for two to three hours and released without being named a suspect.

Videos have appeared to show his son carrying out Islamic State killings.

Mr Emwazi declined to give an interview about his son to Mark Lowen - the first journalist to meet him since his son was unmasked. His wife and daughter have not been questioned by the officials, his lawyer said.

Dressed in white, he appeared drawn, says our correspondent, who greeted him in Arabic.

The lawyer refuted recent media reports that Mr Emwazi had only recently returned to Kuwait from the UK, saying he had moved there in November.

The lawyer was asked when Mr Emwazi last spoke to his son, or if he recognised the voice from the murder videos, but said he would rather not comment on personal matters.

Emwazi in one of the videos in Syria which feature the killing of hostages

"Jihadi John" was unmasked as 26-year-old Emwazi last week, although British and US security services have reportedly known his identity for some time.

He has been seen in several videos showing the apparent murders of Islamic State captives, including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning.

Emwazi's parents, who live in Kuwait, are said to have told the authorities there that they last spoke to their son in 2013 when he called them from Turkey.

They said he told them he was going to do humanitarian work in Syria.

Safe house

Emwazi's mother is said to have told Kuwaiti officials she immediately recognised his voice when she heard him on a hostage video.

Those officials have told the BBC the family has been taken to a safe house.

Born in Kuwait in 1988, Emwazi came to the UK in 1994 when he was six years old.

He was educated at the Quintin Kynaston Community Academy in St John's Wood, north London, and then graduated from the University of Westminster in 2009 with a computing degree.

An audio recording has emerged in which Emwazi denied being an extremist and complained about UK security services.