“A Ugandan court charged 36 opposition supporters on Monday with
terrorism-related offences after they were deported from neighbouring Kenya
where they had travelled to attend a training course, court papers seen by
Reuters showed. The 36 people, who are members of the Forum for Democratic
Change (FDC), one of Uganda's biggest opposition parties, deny the charges.
Their lawyer, Erias Lukwago, told reporters outside the magistrates' court in
Kampala the charges were "ridiculous". The case comes amid protests by young
people in both Uganda and Kenya against corruption, high taxes and other
grievances. Kenyan authorities detained and then deported the 36 people after
they had travelled to the western Kenyan city of Kisumu on July 23 to take part
in a leadership and governance training course, their lawyer and party
officials said. During their detention in Kenya "their properties were
confiscated, including computers and phones.”











<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>



Eye on Extremism



July 30, 2024



BBC: Anjem Choudary Jailed For Life
<[link removed]>



“Anjem Choudary, the leader of the banned terror group al-Muhajiroun, has been
jailed for life and may never leave prison alive. He was found guilty of
directing the group and encouraging support for it through online meetings. The
sentence means that Choudary cannot seek to leave jail on licence until he is
more than 85 years old. Choudary appeared shocked and rocked on his feet in the
dock as he was given a minimum term of 28 years at Woolwich Crown Court. The
extremist preacher was convicted last week of directing a terror organisation
after a complex operation involving detectives and investigators in the US,
Canada and the UK. Mr Justice Wall said Choudary’s group was a radical
organisation that intended to spread sharia law, by violent means, to as much
of the world as possible.”



Reuters: Uganda Court Charges 36 Opposition Supporters With Terrorism-Related
Offences
<[link removed]>



“A Ugandan court charged 36 opposition supporters on Monday with
terrorism-related offences after they were deported from neighbouring Kenya
where they had travelled to attend a training course, court papers seen by
Reuters showed. The 36 people, who are members of the Forum for Democratic
Change (FDC), one of Uganda's biggest opposition parties, deny the charges.
Their lawyer, Erias Lukwago, told reporters outside the magistrates' court in
Kampala the charges were "ridiculous". The case comes amid protests by young
people in both Uganda and Kenya against corruption, high taxes and other
grievances. Kenyan authorities detained and then deported the 36 people after
they had travelled to the western Kenyan city of Kisumu on July 23 to take part
in a leadership and governance training course, their lawyer and party
officials said. During their detention in Kenya "their properties were
confiscated, including computers and phones.”



CEP Mentions



Tagesspiegel: Danger Of War On Israel’s Northern Border: Is Hezbollah
Withdrawing From Southern Lebanon?
<[link removed]>



“Since a rocket hit the Israeli-annexed Golan on Saturday, killing twelve
children and young people, diplomats have been working hard to prevent a war
between Israel and the Islamist Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon.
Jerusalem declared that the attack on the Druze-populated town of Majdal Shams
crossed a red line and announced counterattacks. […] Security expert Hans-Jakob
Schindler sees "no real chance at the moment that Hezbollah will be persuaded
to retreat behind the river." He told the Tagesspiegel newspaper: "At the
moment, it is not only in the interest of Hezbollah, but also in the interest
of Iran, which is Hezbollah's main sponsor , to keep tensions with Israel as
high as possible."



iNews: Police ‘Must Be Supported’ Amid Claims Of Officers Downing Guns At
Manchester Airport
<[link removed]>



“... Ian Acheson, a former prison governor and counter-terrorism expert at
the Home Office, told i: “Airports all over the world now have routinely armed
officers patrolling. Their main purpose is to stop terrorists committing a mass
casualty event. “While we should wait for due process in relation to the
Manchester incident, as a wider point we must ensure armed officers have the
support of the public and the government to carry out their vital protective
role. “We can’t know how many attacks these men and women have thwarted and we
owe them our full support to carry out their tasks professionally within the
law.” Mr Acheson said he believes policing bosses responsible for retaining
volunteer firearms officers will be examining the Manchester Airport incident
“with particular interest”. Though police officers are not allowed to join a
trade union by law, they are represented collectively by the Police Federation.”



mrcTV: ‘Jane’s Revenge’ Abortion Activists Face Up To 10-Year Sentences
<[link removed]>



“In 2023, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody took action against
pro-abortion activists Caleb Freestone, Amber Marie Smith-Stewart, Annarella
Rivera, and Gabriella Victoria Oropesa, who vandalized a pregnancy center.
According to an article by Life News, the activists spray-painted the following
message on the pregnancy center's buildings: “If abortions aren’t safe, neither
are you.” The vandals are affiliated with a group called “Jane’s Revenge,”
which has “claimed responsibility for acts of vandalism and firebombings of
anti-abortion offices and clinics,” according to the Counter Extremism Project.”



Daily Mail: A ‘Pursuit’ Of Online Fame And Fortune Drove Prison Guard With A
Taste For ‘Bandits’ To Have Sex With Inmate In Viral Video, Say Her Family –
Now She’s Left Colleagues In Danger
<[link removed]>



“[…] Prisons are predatory places,' Professor Ian Acheson, former prison
governor and senior advisor to the Counter Extremism Project, told the Daily
Mail. 'This alleged incident together with hardcore porn re-enactments will
have been seen by thousands of prisoners thousands of times. 'The
commodification of female officers as 'meat' will put them at active risk.' And
he added: 'I am particularly worried about female officers working in the high
security estate who are in close daily proximity to extremely dangerous people
with no impulse control such as serial rapists and terrorists. 'This case is a
public relations disaster for HM Prison and Probation Service. But more
importantly it undermines the safety and security of front-line female staff
who do such a vital job on our behalf.'”



Syria



Associated Press: How Two Syrians In Rome Are Using Hummus To Aid War Refugees
And Help Migrants Integrate
<[link removed]>



“A pair of Syrians have created a community that provides support to migrants
and vulnerable people in Rome, by sharing the flavors of a homeland torn by
civil war. Founded in 2018 as a “humanitarian catering service,” HummusTown was
originally aimed at raising funds for families and friends in Syria. It has
since grown into a successful small business that has shifted from sending
remittances to helping new migrants integrate in Italy, all the while gaining a
steady following on Rome’s gastronomic scene. As the Syrian war continued to
rage, Shaza Saker, a long-time U.N. employee living in Rome, and Joumana Farho,
who was working as her cook, wanted to find a way to help people at home.
Farho, 48, brought her “divine’’ cooking, while Saker, 49, networked. “I told
her: ‘Let’s start inviting people over for dinner ... and whatever we make out
of these dinners we’ll just send to Syria,” Saker said."



Turkey



Associated Press: Turkish Official Accuses Israel Of Targeting Erdogan After
He Seemed To Threaten To Invade Over Gaza
<[link removed]>



“A senior Turkish official on Monday accused the Israeli government of trying
to “hide your war crimes” by targeting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after he
seemingly threatened to invade Israel. Fahrettin Altun, Erdogan’s head of
communications, said on social media platform X that those who threaten the
president “do so at their own peril.” The post criticized Israel’s actions
against Palestinians in Gaza. In televised remarks to ruling party officials
late Sunday, Erdogan had commented on Israel’s military operations. “Just like
we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we might do similar to them,”
he said. “There is no reason why we cannot do this ... We must be strong so
that we can take these steps.” Erdogan, who has been highly critical of
Israel’s offensive in Gaza, seemed to be referring to Turkish involvement in
Libya’s conflict and to its support of Azerbaijan in fighting Armenian
separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh.”



Afghanistan



Associated Press: The Taliban Disavows Some Afghan Diplomatic Missions Abroad
And Rejects Their Consular Services
<[link removed]>



“The Taliban on Tuesday disavowed many Afghan diplomatic missions overseas,
saying it will not honor passports, visas and other documents issued by
diplomats associated with Afghanistan’s former Western-backed administration.
It’s the Taliban’s latest attempt to seize control of diplomatic missions since
returning to power in 2021. Many of their leaders are under sanctions and no
country recognizes them as Afghanistan’s legitimate rulers. The country’s seat
at the United Nations is still held by the former government that was led by
Ashraf Ghani. In a statement posted to the social media platform X, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that documents issued by missions in London,
Berlin, Belgium, Bonn, Switzerland, Austria, France, Italy, Greece, Poland,
Australia, Sweden, Canada and Norway are no longer accepted and that the
ministry “bears no responsibility” for those documents.”



Pakistan



Voice Of America: Pakistan Arrests Radical Islamist Leader For Placing Bounty
On Chief Justice
<[link removed]>



“Police in central Pakistan on Monday arrested a leader of a far-right
Islamist party on charges of ordering the assassination of the country’s top
judge over his alleged support for minority Ahmadis. Zaheerul Hassan Shah,
deputy chief of Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan, or TLP, was taken into custody under
the anti-terrorism law in Punjab, the country’s most populous province,
according to an official police complaint. The arrest came a day after Shah was
seen in a viral video on social media announcing to a crowd of TLP supporters
that he would personally give 10 million rupees ($36,000) to anyone who beheads
Supreme Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Esa. The radical leader delivered the
speech in the provincial capital of Lahore, accusing the 65-year-old top judge
of “desecrating the law of the country.” The rally was one of a series of
public gatherings organized by TLP in recent days in parts of Pakistan to
condemn Esa for granting bail to a member of the minority Ahmadi community, who
was accused of posting material against Islam on social media."



Middle East



Reuters: New Mass Exodus Hits Central Gaza As Hamas Says Israel Stalls On
Ceasefire
<[link removed]>



“Thousands of Palestinians fled a community in the central Gaza Strip on
Monday in the face of new Israeli evacuation orders, worsening the humanitarian
plight in an area already inundated with displaced people fleeing an assault in
the south. Islamist group Hamas accused Israel of blocking a ceasefire, saying
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government had inserted new conditions into
a longstanding truce proposal at the lastest talks, conducted through
international mediators. Israeli forces, which have now captured nearly the
entire Gaza Strip in nearly 10 months of war, have spent the last several weeks
launching major operations in areas where they had previously claimed to have
uprooted Hamas fighters. Hundreds of thousands of people have converged on Deir
al-Balah, a small city in the centre of the enclave that is the only major area
yet to be stormed, many forced there by fighting in the ruins of Khan Younis
further south since last week.”



Reuters: Israeli Officials Say They Want To Avoid All-Out War In Lebanon
Retaliation
<[link removed]>



“Israel wants to hurt Hezbollah but not drag the Middle East into all-out
war, two Israeli officials said on Monday, as Lebanon braced for retaliation
after a rocket strike that killed 12 children and teenagers in the
Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Two other Israeli officials said Israel was
preparing for the possibility of a few days of fighting following Saturday's
rocket strike at a sports field in a Druze town that it blamed on the
Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah. Hezbollah has denied any connection
with the incident. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said any Israeli attack
on Lebanon would have "serious consequences" for Israel, Iranian state media
quoted him on Monday as telling French President Emmanuel Macron in a phone
call. Pezeshkian did not elaborate.All four Israeli officials, who included a
senior defence official and a diplomatic source, spoke to Reuters on condition
of anonymity and gave no further information about Israel's plans for
retaliation.”



Reuters: Druze In Shock As War Between Israel And Hezbollah Strikes Home
<[link removed]>



“For many of the Druze community in the Golan Heights mourning 12 youngsters
killed in a missile strike at the weekend, the carnage came as a shock despite
the months of daily rocket fire and air strikes between Israel and southern
Lebanon. Even when the rockets were flying elsewhere, the community felt
largely safe, said Raya Fakher Aldeen, a resident of Majdal Shams, the Druze
village where children and teenagers were playing football when the missile
landed on Saturday. "It was a shock because not once in the last nine months,
even when the sirens were sounding, did we feel we were being targeted," she
said. Israel has accused the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah of
carrying out the strike and on Monday, during a visit to Majdal Shams, Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised a "harsh response". Hezbollah denies
killing the youngsters but said it had launched strikes on what it said were
military targets in nearby areas of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.”



Mali



BBC: Russian Commander Killed In Sandstorm Ambush In Mali
<[link removed]>



“A commander in a Russian mercenary group has been killed in Mali following
an attack by rebel fighters during a sandstorm, the group said. The military
regime in the West African state had turned to the notorious Wagner group in
2021, seeking support in fighting jihadist and separatist forces. On Monday the
Russian outfit - which has now morphed into a group named Africa Corps - said
it had joined Mali's military in "fierce battles" against separatist rebels and
jihadist militants last week. However, the separatists launched a major attack,
killing an estimated 20 to 50 mercenaries, sources close to Africa Corps told
the BBC. Similarly, several Russian military bloggers reported that at least 20
were killed in the ambush near the north-eastern town of Tinzaouaten. In an
official statement posted to Telegram, the Russian mercenary group did not
specify how many of their troops had died, but they confirmed suffering
"losses". This included a commander, Sergei Shevchenko, who was killed in
action.”



Australia



Reuters: Australian Inquiry Will Hear Evidence That Christian Extremists
Killed 3 In An Act Of Terrorism
<[link removed]>



“An inquiry will hear evidence that three Christian extremists who killed two
police officers and a bystander and wounded a third police officer in an ambush
on a rural Australian property in 2022 committed an act of terrorism aimed at
intimidating state authorities, a coroner was told on Monday. Queensland State
Coroner Terry Ryan began hearing the inquiry into a siege in the sparsely
populated Wieambilla region west of the state capital, Brisbane, on Dec. 12,
2022. Brothers Gareth and Nathaniel Train and Gareth’s wife Stacey Train were
killed by police hours after they fired on four police officers who attended
their fortified Wieambilla property to check on Nathaniel’s welfare. Stacey had
been married to Nathaniel and had two children with him before marrying his
older brother. The lawyer presenting the evidence, Ruth O’Gorman, said in her
opening statement that Deakin University political sociologist Josh Roose would
give evidence to the hearing that the ambush was terrorism.”



Southeast Asia



ABC: The Extremist Group Behind The Bali Bombings Says It Has Disbanded. Can
It Be Believed?
<[link removed]>



“After decades of fighting Indonesia's democratic government and promoting
violence to establish an Islamic state in South-East Asia, the notorious
militant group Jemaah Islamiah declared in late June that they would be
disbanding. The Al Qaeda-linked organisation became the face of violent
extremism in the region after they detonated bombs at nightclubs in Bali's Kuta
tourist district in 2002. In that attack, they took the lives of 202 people
including 88 Australians and 38 Indonesians, injured 240 others, and left a
trail of misery for countless more mourning the dead. Their attacks in Bali and
elsewhere are among the worst acts of terrorism South-East Asia has ever seen.
So when Jemaah Islamiah leaders say they've renounced terrorism, should we
believe them? The group was officially founded in 1993 by spiritual leaders
Abdullah Sungkar and Abu Bakar Bashir, who had trained in Afghanistan.”



Technology



Wired: TikTok Has A Nazi Problem
<[link removed]>



“Neo-Nazis and white supremacists are sharing Hitler-related propaganda and
trying to recruit new members on TikTok, according to a new report from the
Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) shared exclusively with WIRED. The
TikTok algorithm is also promoting this content to new users, researchers
found, as extremist communities are leveraging the huge popularity of TikTok
among younger audiences to spread their message. The report from ISD details
how hundreds of extremist TikTok accounts are openly posting videos promoting
Holocaust denial and the glorification of Hitler and Nazi-era Germany, and
suggesting that Nazi ideology is a solution to modern-day issues such as the
alleged migrant invasion of Western countries. The accounts also show support
for white supremacist mass shooters and livestream-related footage or
recreations of these massacres.”



The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If
you value what we do, please consider making a donation.

DONATE NOW
<[link removed]>
 




Click here to unsubscribe.
<[link removed]>