China responded with anger after the U.S. State Department removed from its
list of terrorist organizations a largely defunct Uighur separatist group

 

 


<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
Eye on Extremism


November 9, 2020

 

The Wall Street Journal: China Irate After U.S. Removes ‘Terrorist’ Label From
Separatist Group
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“China responded with anger after the U.S. State Department removed from its
list of terrorist organizations a largely defunct Uighur separatist group that
Beijing partly blames for ethnic tensions in its remote northwest. Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo ordered the delisting of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement,
a group that once advocated for an independent state in China’s Xinjiang
region, on Oct. 20, according to the latest issue of the Federal Register,
published Thursday. Beijing deplored and rejected the decision, Chinese Foreign
Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Friday. The U.S. “has an ugly two-faced
approach toward terrorist organizations,” Mr. Wang said, alleging the Uighur
group had a long history of violent activity that posed a threat to China’s
national security. U.S. officials didn’t respond to the criticism from Beijing.
A State Department official said Friday that the delisting occurred “because,
for more than a decade, there has been no credible evidence that ETIM continues
to exist.” The official said ETIM was removed from the U.S. Terrorist Exclusion
List, which prohibits members of terrorist groups from entering or remaining in
the U.S.”

 

France 24: France Holds Talks With Tunisia On Returning Islamic Extremists
After Nice Church Attack
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“Tunisia is willing on certain conditions to take back its nationals expelled
from France, the interior minister said Saturday, after talks with his visiting
French counterpart on measures against Islamist radicalisation. The former
French colony is “prepared to receive any Tunisian”, Taoufik Charfeddine said
at the end of a visit by Gerald Darmanin, following a deadly attack in Nice
last month allegedly carried out by a Tunisian jihadist. “But this must be done
in line with conditions and regulations” under international laws and
conventions, and “preserving the dignity of the Tunisian” being returned,
Charfeddine told reporters. The French interior minister also met with Tunisian
President Kais Saied. Sources close to Darmanin said ahead of the talks that he
would submit to authorities a list of some 20 Tunisians who France wants to
expel, on the basis that they had been convicted on terrorism charges or were
suspected of jihadist inclinations. The French interior minister is due to
visit Algeria on Sunday on a similar mission. Public opinion in Tunisia is
hostile towards the return of suspected jihadists, and authorities have refused
the return of their citizens from France on the basis of travel restrictions
linked to the coronavirus pandemic.”

 

United States

 

CBS Philly: 2 Heavily Armed Va. Men Found Outside Convention Center Charged As
Philly Police Investigate Threat Of Attack
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“Two heavily armed Virginia men found outside the Pennsylvania Convention
Center were arrested by Philadelphia police late Thursday night. This comes as
mail-in ballots were being counted inside of the center. On Friday, the
Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office charged 42-year-old Joshua Macia and
61-year-old Antonio Lamotta, both of Chesapeake, Virginia, with several weapons
charges. “On Nov. 5, 2020, the FBI in Norfolk, Virginia received a tip stating
individuals were en route from Virginia Beach to Philadelphia in a silver
Hummer truck and were in possession of weapons and ammunition,” Philadelphia
Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said. That alert was broadcasted throughout
the police department, including to the hundreds of officers protecting the
Pennsylvania Convention Center. The vehicle with Virginia tags was found
unattended on the 200 block of North 13th Street in Center City. A few minutes
later, officers stopped two armed men on the street. Police say they did not
have a license to carry in Pennsylvania and were placed under arrest.
Investigators say Lamotta was wearing a Beretta handgun in plain view and
Macias was concealing another.”

 

Syria

 

Kurdistan 24: SDF Arrest Four ISIS Members In Rare Raid In Eastern Syria’s
Deir Al-Zor
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“In a special operation supported by the US-led Coalition, the Syrian
Democratic Forces (SDF) on Sunday arrested four suspected Islamic State
fighters in rural Deir al-Zor province. “In a joint operation, our special
forces and the international coalition forces raided today an ISIS cell in
Albusayrah, Deir Ezzor countryside,” the SDF Media Centre said in a statement.
“During the operation, four terrorists were arrested and large quantities of
ammunition were seized.” According to the pro-SDF Deir al-Zor Media Centre the
operation was carried out by Anti-Terror Forces (HAT), affiliated to the
Internal Security Forces, also known as Asayish. The sleeper cell group was
allegedly responsible for carrying out assassinations targeting tribal leaders
and civilians working with the local Autonomous Administration of North and
East of Syria (AANES) in the area around al-Busayrah. The suspects' tactic was
drive-by shootings on motorcycles. On Friday, Col. Wayne Marotto, the Spokesman
for the US-led Coalition, wrote on Twitter that Iraqi and Syrian partners
carried out “15 operations against Daesh (ISIS), preventing 12 leaders & 22
henchmen from committing acts of terror.”

 

Iraq

 

Reuters: Gunmen Kill At Least 11 In Attack On Iraqi Army Post In Baghdad,
Sources Say
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“Unidentified gunmen killed at least 11 people and wounded eight others
including soldiers in an attack on an Iraqi army post in western Baghdad,
police sources and medics said on Monday. The assailants in four vehicles
attacked the post in the capital’s southwestern district of Al-Radhwaniya using
grenades and automatic weapons, the sources said. The Iraqi military said in a
statement that a “terrorist group” of four elements attacked a post of a
government-backed Sunni militiamen, killing four people and wounding three. The
army and police forces have started an operation in search of the attackers,
police sources said.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Associated Press: Militant Mortar Fire Kills 8 Afghan Civilians, Official Says
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“At least eight Afghan civilians — five children and three women — were killed
Sunday when militants fired mortars into eastern Ghazni province’s capital
city, a provincial official said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for
the attack. But Wahidullah Jumazada, a spokesman for the provincial governor,
blamed insurgents who he said often fire mortars or rockets toward military
bases in the area which miss their intended targets. At least four more
children and three men were also wounded by the firing, he said. Violence has
soared in Afghanistan in recent months, even as the Taliban and government
negotiators hold peace talks in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar to find an end to
decades of relentless war in Afghanistan. The two sides have made little
progress. Washington’s peace envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has been
pressing for an agreement on a reduction of violence or a cease-fire, which the
Taliban have refused, saying a permanent truce would be part of the
negotiations. The talks are part of a negotiated agreement between the United
States and the Taliban to allow U.S. and NATO troops to withdraw from
Afghanistan, ending 19 years of military engagement.”

 

Voice Of America: Afghan Government Says Taliban Maintaining Ties With Al-Qaida

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“The Afghan government says that the killing of a high-ranking al-Qaida leader
in a Taliban safe haven in eastern Afghanistan last month is an indication that
the Taliban is not keeping up with its pledge to end ties with al-Qaida.
“Unfortunately, the Taliban still provide a safe environment for these
terrorist groups to operate,” Siddeq Siddiqqui, a spokesperson for the Afghan
government, told VOA. “The Taliban harbor of al-Qaida operatives is contrary to
Taliban's commitment to cut ties with foreign terrorist groups,” Siddiqqui
said, referring to the U.S.-Taliban deal in February that required the Taliban
to stop supporting terrorist groups such as Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaida.
The Afghan government said on October 24 that its forces had killed a senior
al-Qaida leader, Abu Muhsin al-Masri, in a Taliban-controlled area in the
eastern province of Ghazni. The country’s National Directorate of Intelligence
(NDS) said al-Masri was a close aide to al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and
had supported the Taliban and Haqqani Network for years. It said he was living
in Ghazni under Taliban protection. Al-Masri, who was 61 or 62 years old, is
also known as Husam Abd al-Ra’uf and had been on the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) Most Wanted Terrorist list since December 2018.”

 

Voice Of America: Taliban Expect Biden To Stick To Afghan Peace Deal Without
'Significant Change'
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“The Taliban say they expect President-elect Joe Biden to stick to a peace
agreement the insurgent group sealed with the United States earlier this year
to end the war in Afghanistan, America’s longest. The February 29 landmark pact
negotiated by President Donald Trump’s administration has set in motion a
“conditions-based” withdrawal of all U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan by
May 2021. The U.S. military has since cut the size of its troop presence to
4,500 soldiers, from around 13,000 at the time of the signing of the deal and
vacated several Afghan bases. “It (the agreement) serves the interest of the
Afghan nation and the interest of the American nation. It should not be subject
to any significant change and should be implemented in the form in which it is
agreed upon,” Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem told VOA when asked for his
comments on the fate of the pact under the next U.S. president. “It is our
expectation that the ongoing peace process and the agreement with the U.S.
government will remain on track,” Naeem said. He spoke to VOA from Qatar’s
capital, Doha, where the Taliban maintains its political office.”

 

The Week: Afghans Mourn The Loss Of Young Lives In ISIS Attacks
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“These days, it seems like Afghans barely have time to mourn. All over the
country, families get news of loved ones killed in violent attacks. They weep.
Bury the dead. And repeat. The latest attack took place on Monday when gunmen
stormed Kabul University and killed students in their classrooms. The attack is
one of many that have shaken Afghanistan in recent weeks. ISIS, as well as the
Taliban, have stepped up their attacks amid peace talks between the Afghan
government and the Taliban. The two sides have been meeting in Doha, Qatar, but
progress has been slow. On Monday, photos online showed panicked students
scrambling to climb the campus walls to safety. Concerned relatives showed up
to get news of their loved ones. Head of Kabul University students' union, Omid
Mehriyar, was on the scene and collected victims' cellphones to connect with
their relatives. Member of Parliament Naheed Farid tweeted a quote from
Mehriyar: “I was scared,” he said. “Some had calls from their mothers and
fathers. I couldn't relay the news to them. Then, I saw one of the victims had
142 missed calls. And there was a final message [that read] 'my beloved, where
are you?'“

 

Egypt

 

Reuters: Shifting Militant Tactics Curb Development In Egypt's North Sinai
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“When Egyptian farmer Mohamed al-Qalaji’s family returned to their village in
North Sinai last month after the army had expelled Islamist militants, his son
was killed by a booby trap in a sheep pen. Egypt is rolling out ambitious
development projects in the peninsula adjoining the Suez Canal, Israel and
Gaza, but pockets of instability persist despite an intensified military
campaign. Large scale assaults on military and government positions have
subsided but militants have shifted tactics, staging more individual attacks,
deploying snipers and planting explosives, security sources and analysts say.
Their ability to temporarily overrun villages near Bir al-Abd in north-west
Sinai this summer shows security remains fragile, while poverty and neglect
have not been fully addressed, they say. At least 15 people have been killed by
explosive devices around Bir al-Abd since Oct. 10, security sources said,
alarming residents and highlighting the risks for development projects. “Eight
booby traps went off in houses in our village alone,” said Qalaji, 39, speaking
by phone. “People are afraid to enter their houses.”

 

Nigeria

 

The Christian Post: 12 Christians, Pastor Killed In Suspected Boko Haram
Attack; Others Kidnapped
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“Islamic extremists believed to be affiliated with Boko Haram reportedly
killed several Christians, including a pastor, and kidnapped several others in
an attack carried out in Nigeria’s conflict-ridden northeast earlier this week.
According to The Associated Press, the insurgents killed at least 12 people in
the attack on the Takulashi village near Chibok in Borno state on Sunday
morning. The militants are also said to have abducted nine women and young
girls. Sources who spoke with Morning Star News, a nonprofit news organization
that covers global Christian persecution, reported that all 12 people killed in
the incident were Christians.  One of the deceased victims was the pastor of a
church belonging to the Church of Christ in Nations denomination. “They also
burned down houses and looted food items from our houses,” area resident Ishaku
Musa told the outlet. “At the end of the shootings and looting, which lasted
about two hours, 12 of our people in the community were killed, three women
were kidnapped and also four children were abducted by the Boko Haram
attackers.” Musa explained that the gunmen arrived in the village in six
gun-trucks and three other heavy-duty vehicles. The militants reportedly fired
their weapons indiscriminately.”

 

Africa

 

Associated Press: Attack On Burkina Faso Mosque Wounds 6, Says Government
<[link removed]>

 

“An unknown assailant threw a flammable bottle into a mosque in Burkina Faso’s
capital, wounding six people, the government spokesman said Sunday.
Investigations into the Friday evening attack are ongoing, Remis Fulgance
Dandjinou told The Associated Press. Security Minister Ousseni Compaore visited
the site of the Friday evening attack and met with the victims on Saturday,
according to a Facebook post from the ministry. A 30-year-old woman who arrived
at the mosque for evening prayers shortly after the attack told AP that people
were crying and some were lying on the ground with burns. She spoke on
condition of anonymity for fear of her safety. A note left on the ground nearby
said: “Close the mosque or we’ll launch grenades at you,” she said. Burkina
Faso has been reeling from attacks linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State
group for five years. More than 2,100 people have been killed this year due to
violence, seven times larger than the number from two years ago, according to
the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. Burkina Faso experts say
that years of extremist violence could be fueling anti-Islamic sentiment."

 

Bloomberg: Ivory Coast Rounds Up Opposition Leaders Accused Of Terrorism
<[link removed]>

 

“Ivory Coast authorities arrested a key opposition leader amid a wave of
detentions targeting politicians who face terrorism and murder charges over
their calls for a civil disobedience campaign and a transitional government.
The arrests and charges risk inflaming tensions in the world’s top cocoa
grower, where the opposition and the government have been in a standoff over
last week’s presidential election. The opposition boycotted the vote after
arguing that the constitution barred President Alassane Ouattara -- who was
declared the winner on Nov. 3 -- from seeking a third term. The state is
hitting back after the main opposition leader, Henri Konan Bedie, and his ally
Pascal Affi N’Guessan urged their supporters to join a civil disobedience
campaign in the run-up to the election and this week called for a transitional
government to prepare fresh elections -- actions that Public Prosecutor Richard
Adou said constituted crimes against the state. “All the acts perpetrated and
sponsored by the promoters” of the proposed transitional council have sought to
“undermine the authority of the state in order to achieve the overthrow of the
institutions of the republic,” he said in Abidjan, the commercial capital.”

 

Voice Of America: Algeria Eyes Cross-Border Missions As Fear Of Militant
Spillover Grows
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“Algeria approved constitutional amendments on Sunday that experts call an
ambitious move to answer public demands after months of protests and to
safeguard its borders against violent extremism spillover from Libya and other
troubled neighbors. Since its independence from France in 1962, the North
African country’s constitution has stipulated that the army’s mission is to
defend Algeria’s borders and sovereignty without breaching other nations’
sovereignty. That changed in the Nov. 1 referendum when articles 28 and 29 of
the constitution where amended to allow cross-border operations upon the
approval of two-thirds of its parliament and under the supervision of the Arab
League, the African Union and the United Nations. “It is a pragmatic choice,
the region is unstable, and Algeria is surrounded by states, mainly Mali, Niger
and Mauritania, that are considered to be fragile states, so Algeria needs to
be ready if a conflict erupts in its neighbors,” Dalia Ghanem, Algerian
resident scholar at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut,
told VOA. Ghanem said the new amendments to allow the army to carry out
cross-border peacekeeping missions are an attempt by the new government to
prepare Algerians for any future military interference in neighboring
countries.”

 

United Kingdom

 

BBC News: Man Jailed For Downloading Islamic State Terror Videos
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“A man has been jailed for downloading Islamic State group material, including
bomb-making videos and a video showing two men being killed with a knife.
Ataubaq Taj, 34, of Hacking Street, Salford was sentenced to six years when he
appeared at Manchester Crown Court. Taj, formerly of Accrington, was convicted
last month of making a record containing information likely to be useful to a
terrorist. He was ordered to serve five years in jail and an additional year on
licence. Counter Terrorism Policing North West said Taj downloaded and stored
several files of propaganda material on his phone, laptop, USB drives and CDs.
These included an IS video demonstrating the most effective ways of killing
with a knife and how to make an improvised bomb. Taj was arrested and released
under investigation after officers searched his previous address in Accrington,
Lancashire, in July 2019. He was arrested for a second time in January and
charged in February. Det Ch Insp Andrew Meeks said the “result comes after
months of meticulous investigating from our officers to ensure that Ataubaq Taj
has been brought to justice for his possession of dangerous propagandist
material”. “While there were no known plans for Taj to put into action the
material he was consuming, it was nevertheless alarming that he was storing so
much of this dangerous digital media on his devices,” he added.”

 

BBC News: Rugby Teenager Paul Dunleavy Jailed For Terror Offences
<[link removed]>

 

“A teenager who was part of a banned neo-Nazi group has been jailed for
preparing acts of terrorism. A judge ruled 17-year-old Paul Dunleavy can be
named but described his efforts to commit the act as “inept”. Dunleavy had
admitted nine counts of possessing terror manuals and also had videos of the
New Zealand terror attack in 2019, in which 51 people died. At Birmingham Crown
Court, Judge Paul Farrer QC jailed the defendant for five years and six months.
Dunleavy, who had denied preparing an attack, had joined a neo-Nazi group
called Feuerkrieg Division (FKD) in July last year, the court was told. The
group was created by a 13-year-old Estonian and was outlawed in the UK this
summer after being linked to terrorism cases around the world. Judge Farrer
said Dunleavy had offered practical advice on firearms to other FKD members,
some of whom have gone on themselves to be convicted of terrorism offences in
other countries. The judge told the defendant he harboured an intention to
commit an act of terrorism, but added it was unlikely the he would have
followed through, describing his preparations as “inept.”

 

The Independent: Isis Member Used Bitcoin To Transfer Money From UK 'For
Release Of Jihadists In Syrian Prisons', Court Hears
<[link removed]>

 

“An alleged Isis member attempted to use Bitcoin to help imprisoned jihadists
escape from prisons in northern Syria, a court has heard. Hashim Chaudhary, 27,
was allegedly a member of Isis since January 2016 and carried out fundraising
and propaganda work to benefit the group. Prosecutor Samuel Main told the Old
Bailey the case was “factually novel” and one of the first times someone had
been charged with Isis membership in the UK. “The defendant is alleged to have
used Bitcoin to transfer funds abroad,” he told a hearing on Friday. “He held
himself out as being able to engage in that kind of transaction.” Mr Chaudhary
is accused of gathering funds and transferring money abroad using the
cryptocurrency to allow captured Isis militants to escape Kurdish-controlled
prison camps in northern Syria. He is also accused of disseminating terrorist
publications through Twitter and the encrypted messaging app Telegram. Mr
Chaudhary, from Leicester, is charged with membership of a proscribed
organisation, two counts of entering a terrorist funding arrangement and four
counts of disseminating terrorist publications. He has not yet been asked to
enter a plea to the charges. Justice Sweeney remanded Mr Chaudhary in custody
ahead of a plea hearing on 8 March.”

 

The Guardian: Manchester Bomber's Parents Among Six Sought For Questioning
<[link removed]>

 

“The parents of the suicide bomber Salman Abedi are among six people
detectives want to question over the Manchester Arena bombing, a legal ruling
has revealed. Abedi’s father, Ramadan Abedi, and mother, Samia Tabbal, are
among four suspects, while police want to trace and eliminate two other people
from their investigation. Greater Manchester police (GMP) had sought to
restrict the information being released during the ongoing public inquiry into
the May 2017 terrorist attack but the application, which many bereaved families
were against, was successfully opposed by various media organisations. The
inquiry’s chair, Sir John Saunders, decided the information would not give rise
to a risk of prejudice to future criminal investigations as GMP had argued.
Earlier this year, Abedi’s brother, Hashem, was jailed for a minimum of 55
years for the murders of 22 people in the bombing after he helped his older
sibling plan the attack. The Guardian revealed how the brothers dissident
father, Ramadan, who was arrested in Libya the day after the blast alongside
his other terrorist son, was quietly released without charge and has vanished.
Ramadan, 54, fought against the Gaddafi regime in Libya with a militant group
that was designated a terrorist organisation by the US.”

 

Daily Mail: ISIS Supporter Who Planned To Behead A Soldier On An Anzac Day
Parade Aged 14 Is Among 100 Convicted Terrorists Due To Be Freed As Early As
Next Month
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“An ISIS supporter who planned to behead a soldier on an Anzac Day parade when
he was just 14 is among convicted terrorists who could be freed soon. He is
among more than 100 convicted terrorists that could be freed in Britain - some
as early as next month - after becoming eligible for parole. Others that are
set for a potential release include two childhood friends who were trained with
weapons in Syria, a Londoner who downloaded terrorist manuals with
assassination instructions and a man who tried to join ISIS to marry a
9-year-old girl. Their chance of being freed comes after the release of the
UK's first al-Qaeda-inspired terrorist in February. It emerged that Moinul
Abedin, 47, who was jailed for 20 years in 2002 after collecting nearly 100kg
of bomb-making chemicals in Birmingham, was released quietly after a parole
hearing. Abedin's arrest and prosecution followed an MI5 surveillance operation
in which he was given the codename 'Pivoting Dancer,' according to The Times.
The disclosure comes after the decision last week to raise Britain's terror
threat level to 'severe', which means that an attack is considered 'likely'. It
also follows terrorist attacks in Paris and Vienna, with the attack in Austria
involving a 20-year-old gunman who had been released early from prison after
being jailed last year for trying to join ISIS abroad.”

 

France

 

The New York Times: Attacks In France Point To A Threat Beyond Extremist
Networks
<[link removed]>

 

“All were unknown to police intelligence officials. None pledged allegiance to
a terrorist group, and no group claimed them as members. None stated any
political agenda. Signs of radicalization, if at all visible, were expressed on
social media. And they came armed with little more than knives. The three young
men behind recent terrorist attacks that have shaken France present a difficult
challenge to the French authorities — isolated, self-radicalized individuals,
rather than Islamist extremist networks — raising tough questions about whether
the broad measures the government has taken in response are the right ones.
Unattached to any group, harder to track and with an often obscured,
hair-trigger propensity for violence that needs just the right spark, they are
a far cry from the well-orchestrated and synchronized assaults in the wave of
terrorism that swept France half a decade ago. Involving sophisticated planning
and weapons, the past attacks killed and injured hundreds and were claimed by
the Islamic State and an Al Qaeda affiliate. They were also different from this
week’s attack in Vienna, which was carried out in the name of the Islamic State
by an Austrian national already convicted of trying to join the organization in
Syria.”

 

Europe

 

Politico: Austria Shuts Down Mosque After Vienna Terror Attack
<[link removed]>

 

“Austrian authorities have shut down a mosque and an Islamic association
frequented by the man who killed four people in a terror attack in Vienna
earlier this week. Integration Minister Susanne Raab and Interior Minister Karl
Nehammer announced the closure of the Tewhid Mosque in Vienna and the Melit
Ibrahim Association on Friday following a meeting with the president of
Austria’s Islamic Faith Community, Ümit Vural, local media reported. The
decision came after a 20-year-old supporter of the so-called Islamic State
terrorist group went on a deadly rampage in the Austrian capital on Monday
night, killing four. The attacker was shot dead by police. The gunman had
frequented the mosque and the association, Raab said, saying the closure
decision was made in the name of national security as the two institutions had
been found not to hold a “positive attitude toward society and the state” as
mandated in Austria’s so-called Islam Law. But she stressed that the move
should not be seen as an attack on Islam or Muslims. “The goal of terrorism is
to drive a wedge into our society — between Muslims and non-Muslims,” she said.
At the same press conference, the interior minister acknowledged intelligence
failures prior to the attack, saying “intolerable mistakes were made.”

 

Technology

 

Reuters: Facebook Removes 'Inauthentic' Networks Spanning Eight Nations
<[link removed]>

 

“Facebook on Friday said it has dismantled seven separate networks of fake
accounts and pages on its platform that were active in Iran, Afghanistan,
Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, Myanmar, Georgia, and Ukraine due to “coordinated
inauthentic behaviour”. The social media platform announced it had taken down
the new networks as part of its monthly report into “coordinated inauthentic
behaviour”, which also noted Facebook had removed nearly 8,000 pages involved
in deceptive campaigns around the world in October. Many of the networks taken
down by Facebook were involved in deceptive political influence campaigns using
fake accounts, targeting audiences both domestically and abroad. One network of
Facebook accounts and pages was operated from Egypt, Turkey, and Morocco by
individuals connected to the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egyptian Islamist movement
that operates networks of groups across the Middle East. The pages targeted
countries across the region and included some terrorism-related content,
Facebook said. Facebook found two “inauthentic” networks in Georgia spreading
political content, one of which the platform traced to individuals associated
with two political parties.”

 

The Guardian: 'Nobody Can Block It': How The Telegram App Fuels Global Protest
<[link removed]>

 

“One Sunday in August, two weeks after Belarus’s authoritarian leader
Alexander Lukashenko declared an implausibly decisive victory in presidential
elections, I joined a crowd of around 100,000 people as it moved through
central Minsk. Protest in Belarus was no longer the domain of a few hundred
hardy opposition figures, and the homemade placards many people carried
illustrated how broad the coalition had become: “Let’s drink to love, from the
bartenders of Belarus”; “Teachers against violence”; “Working class, go on
strike!” … According to Joshua Fisher-Birch, a researcher at the Counter
Extremism Project in New York, Telegram was the forum Isis fighters used most
often to communicate with each other at the height of the group’s dominance of
parts of Iraq and Syria. “They felt it was a safe space, because they would not
have their data shared with any government, and they also liked the ease of
use,” he tells me. Durov’s explanations for why he does not lose sleep over
this have been far from convincing: “Ultimately, Isis will always find a way to
communicate within themselves, and if any means of communication turns out to
be not secure, they’ll just switch to another one,” he said at a conference in
2015. But, despite its initial reluctance to work with governments, Telegram
has started taking action against terrorist-linked channels, Fisher-Birch says."

 



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