An Iranian diplomat suspected of leading a failed state-sponsored bomb attack
in Europe has received a 20-year prison sentence in Belgium. Assadollah

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


December 1, 2020

 

Middle East Monitor: Belgium: Iran Diplomat Receives 20-year Prison Term For
Terrorism
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“An Iranian diplomat suspected of leading a failed state-sponsored bomb attack
in Europe has received a 20-year prison sentence in Belgium. Assadollah Assadi,
48, faced trial in Antwerp, Belgium, last week, alongside three other Iranians
over his involvement in a 2018 plot against an exiled opposition group in
France. The trial, which started on Friday, was the first time a European Union
(EU) state has charged an Iranian official with terrorism offences. Assadi
allegedly brought nearly half a kilogramme of explosives into Belgium on a
commercial flight from Iran to Vienna in June 2018, the New York Times
reported. The 48-year-old then drove, in a rental car, to Luxembourg, where he
handed the substance over to an Iranian-Belgian couple. The couple, Amir
Saadouni, 40, and his wife, Nassimeh Naami, 36, were arrested two days later,
on the day of the convention, while they were driving to Paris. Assadi was
arrested in Germany, on his drive back to Vienna. A fourth man, Mehrdad
Arefani, 57, was arrested on suspicion of being Assadi's accomplice. Belgium's
court spokesperson announced the verdict saying: "For the Iranian diplomat
suspect in this case, a 20-year prison term. For the couple found in possession
of the bomb, an 18-year prison term, and for the fourth suspect, a 15-year
prison term.”

 

The Australian: Convicted Terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika In Contact With IS
Fighters While In Jail
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“Convicted terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika received visits from men who went on
to become Islamic State fighters, including one who took a photo of his son
holding a severed head, a court has been told. Benbrika has spent 15-years
behind bars after he was found guilty and jailed for being the leader of
Australia’s largest terrorist network. He is due to be released this year. “He
remains an unacceptable risk of committing a serious terrorist act,” government
lawyer Rowena Orr QC told the Supreme Court of Victoria on Tuesday. Benbrika
plotted to bomb Crown Casino and the MCG on grand final day in a bid to coerce
the Australian government to withdraw troops from Iraq. The barrister,
representing Home Affairs, argued the terrorist should remain behind bars until
2023 under a continuing detention order. Ms Orr said Benbrika’s later
statements denouncing some of his radical beliefs were “self-serving”. While in
jail Benbrika received visits from Khaled Sharrouf, who went on to fight for
Islamic State in Syria and posted a photo of his then seven-year-old son
holding the severed head of a soldier, the court was told. “That’s my boy,” the
caption read. His former son-in-law Shayden Thorne was also convicted of
terrorism offences.”

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Afghanistan

 

Reuters: Taliban-Afghan Government Agreement Marred By Document's Wording
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“A breakthrough on an initial agreement reached between Taliban and government
negotiators has been held up at the last minute after the insurgent group
balked at the document’s preamble because it mentioned the Afghan government by
name. Teams representing the Taliban and the Afghan government have been
negotiating in the Qatari capital since September to reach a consensus on the
modalities of peace talks, moving forward to help end decades of war in
Afghanistan. “The negotiating teams have so far agreed on all 21 articles that
provide guiding principles for the negotiations,” Afghan President Ashraf
Ghani’s spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said in a statement on Monday. “At this time,
they continue to debate the preamble, in which some issues need further
clarification”. Government and diplomatic sources told Reuters that when it
came to signing the document in November, which was to include references to
the “Islamic Republic of Afghanistan” - the official name of the Afghan
government, - the Taliban backed off. The Taliban refuse to refer to the Afghan
negotiating team as representatives of the Afghan government, as they contest
the legitimacy of Ghani’s election.”

 

Lebanon

 

The Wall Street Journal: Lebanon’s Central Bank Fuels Corruption, Extremism
Concerns
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“U.S. and other Western financial-enforcement and diplomatic officials are
exerting pressure on Lebanon’s central bank as part of an international push to
sideline Iran-backed Hezbollah, oppose corruption and alleviate the country’s
economic and political crises. Washington and its allies for months have
demanded a forensic audit of the central bank that they believe may uncover
evidence of money laundering, corruption and links to Hezbollah by top Lebanese
officials, including at the central bank, Western officials said. The pressure
on the central bank, including the threat of possible sanctions, according to
the Western officials, is a rare step the U.S. usually reserves for bitter
rivals such as North Korea, Iran and Venezuela. Forensic audits are
investigatory examinations that check for possible evidence of fraud or other
activity that could bring legal or enforcement action. Washington and its
allies are leveraging Beirut’s desperate need for emergency financing,
demanding the examination in the hope of shedding light on long-opaque
central-bank operations, the officials said. Efforts to conduct an exam
suffered a setback this month when the independent auditor hired to carry it
out withdrew, citing insufficient access to central-bank records.”

 

Egypt

 

Daily News Egypt: Analysis: What If Al-Qaeda Leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri Really
Died?
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“Al-Qaeda (AQ) leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri is allegedly dead. Since 13 November,
several reports published by researchers and news websites have claimed that
the leader of the terrorist organisation died a month ago of natural causes.
The organisation has not confirmed the reports of its leader’s death, although
analysts suggest that it is very typical of the group to refrain from
publishing news of its leader’s death promptly. Hassan Hassan, co-author of the
book ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror, was one of the first to publish the news
on Twitter. “The news is making the rounds in close circles. I realize the
issue with such claims but corroborated it with sources close to AQ (Hurras
al-Din),” he tweeted … Al-Adel played “a crucial role in building Al-Qaeda’s
operational capabilities and quickly ascended the hierarchy”, according to the
Counter Extremism Project. He currently lives in Iran, and operates as one of
Al-Zawahiri’s chief deputies, according to a 2018 UN report.”

 

Somalia

 

Dalsan Radio: Somalia: Al-Shabaab Attacks Military Base In Southern Somalia
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“A military base belonging to Somali National Army (SNA) was on Monday
attacked by Alshabab militants. The incident took place at Somali troops base
in the southern town of Ba'adweyne in Mudug region. A heavy gunfight between
the two parties ensured four over two hours according to the residents. At the
time of publishing, this report details from either side remain scanty. The
Alshabab militants who have been fighting with SNA troops in the region claimed
victory in the internet saying they took over the town and took control. On
Friday suicide bomber blew himself up near Adan Adde International Airport
killing at least eight people and injured fifteen others on the attack. In a
statement posted on its online affiliate media, the Al-Shabaab terror group
claimed resposibility for the attack saying their suicide bomber killed people.
Alshabab still controls of rural central and southern Somalia despite the fact
that the group has lost strategic town over past years. The African Union
Forces and the US Africa Command have been assisting Somali National Army
degrading the group.”

 

Africa

 

Daily News: Southern Africa: Terrorism Main Threat
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“President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has called for an integrated and coordinated
regional approach to effectively deal with imminent threats. Officially opening
the SADC extraordinary Organ Troika summit on November 27, Dr Masisi said the
region was threatened by issues of terrorism, insurgencies, cybercrime and
transnational organised crime. The President, who is SADC Organ on Politics,
Defence and Security Cooperation chairperson, said there was an urgent need to
deal with the threats, particularly terrorism, which had been identified as the
most serious threat by the Assessment of Security Threats to the SADC region
report. Stressing the importance of peace and security, he said they were a
strong pedestal for deepening political cooperation, cohesion towards regional
integration and socio-economic development. President Masisi said SADC Vision
2050 and Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) recognised that
peace, security and stability were not only complementary but preconditions for
national, regional and global development. He commended SADC member states for
individually and collectively tightening efforts to ensure that the bloc's
aspirations and priorities were fully realised.”

 

United Kingdom

 

BBC News: Manchester Arena Inquiry: Review 'Reshaped UK Counter-Terrorism
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“Fast-time learning” from the attack on Manchester Arena led to several
changes in how UK counter-terrorism teams work, the inquiry into the bombing
has heard. The inquiry into the attack of 22 May 2017, which killed 22 people,
was told senior officers reviewed what happened five days later to learn from
it. Their 21 recommendations had mostly been implemented, the hearing was told.
A senior officer said that at the time, counter-terrorism focused on the
nature, not the timing, of a threat. Twenty-two people were killed and hundreds
more were injured as they left an Ariana Grande concert on 22 May 2017. Lucy
D'Orsi, deputy assistant commissioner with National Counter Terrorism Police,
said she believed the security advice at the time was correct. She said: “I
think there should be a holistic focus on what the attack methodology is, which
in this case was a person-borne IED (improved explosive device).” There was no
mention in the guidance of the specific terrorist threat of people leaving a
concert, the inquiry heard. When asked if she thought it was a mistake this had
been left out, Ms D'Orsi disagreed. She told the inquiry it was “obvious” to
security bosses a mass of people would leave a concert when it finished.”

 

BBC News: Birmingham Woman Charged With Terror Offences
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“A woman from Birmingham has been charged with terrorism offences. Aaminah
Amatullah, from Livingstone Road, Handsworth, was arrested on 24 November as
part of an investigation by counter terrorism police. The 38-year-old faces two
counts of disseminating terrorist publications contrary to section 2 of the
Terrorism Act 2006. Ms Amatullah is due to appear before Westminster
Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, West Midlands Police said.”

 

Europe

 

The Local Switzerland: Does Switzerland Face A Threat From Terrorism?
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“After a stabbing attack in Lugano on Tuesday, an incident which federal
police regards as terrorism-related, many in Switzerland are wondering whether
the country is at risk from more attacks. This is what the experts say. A
28-year-old assailant was arrested last week after allegedly trying to strangle
one person with her bare hands, and stabbing another in the neck in the
southern city of Lugano, in the canton of Ticino. “The perpetrator is known to
the federal police,” the police said on Twitter. “She was part of a police
investigation in 2017 in connection with jihadism.” In another incident in
September, a man stabbed and killed a random person in the back while the
victim was eating in a restaurant in the town of Morges, in Vaud. Officials
said the suspect had been known to the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS)
“because of the consumption and dissemination of jihadist propaganda”.  In a
report published on November 24th, FIS noted that “in Switzerland, the
terrorist threat remains at a heightened level”. However, while Switzerland
could be a target of attacks, “it is not a top priority for jihadists”, FIS
said. Where does the biggest threat come from? FIS noted that as Switzerland is
part of the Western world, judged by jihadists to be Islamophobic, so they view
the country as a “legitimate target.”

 

Australia

 

The Guardian: Christchurch Inquiry: Islamic Group Says It 'Asked For Help'
Before Attack
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“New Zealand’s Islamic community has told the Christchurch massacre inquiry
that it knew it was “vulnerable” to a terror attack, and that security forces
had wrongly focused on terrorism committed by Muslim extremists. “We asked for
help. We knew we were vulnerable to such an attack. We did not know who, when,
what, where or how. But we knew,” the Federation of the Islamic Associations of
New Zealand said in a submission made public on Monday. Its conclusion is based
on the Islamic community’s own review of a decade of media reports,
parliamentary speeches, public addresses, online forums and other sources.
Fifty-one people died when a white supremacist armed with automatic weapons
stormed two mosques in Christchurch during Friday prayers on 15 March 2019. A
royal commission of inquiry into the attacks gave its report to the government
last week. It will be made public after it is shown to the families of the
victims and survivors. The Islamic federation’s submission points to numerous
examples of how New Zealand’s director-general of security, Rebecca Kitteridge,
wrongly framed terrorism as a “Muslim issue” rather than seeing the community
as potential victims.”

 

Technology

 

The Sun: Facebook Still Spreading Holocaust Denial Posts And Groups Despite
Zuckerberg’s ‘Ban’ Last Month
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“Recent research is said to have found numerous Holocaust denial Facebook
pages that were still active as of mid-November. This is according to The
Markup, which also said Facebook’s algorithms continue to promote and recommend
antisemitic content to people who click on the pages. The nonprofit
investigative news outlet said that this is "effectively creating a network for
pushing anti-Semitic content." A lot of the antisemitic content found was said
to be connected to infamous Holocaust denial groups that would be likely
candidates for Facebook to target during its hate speech crackdown. Facebook
did not respond to The Markup's multiple requests for comment. The Sun has also
reached out to the tech giant. Vice president Monika Bickert wrote on the
Facebook blogpost back on October 12: "Today we are updating our hate speech
policy to prohibit any content that denies or distorts the Holocaust." She
added: "Our decision is supported by the well-documented rise in anti-Semitism
globally and the alarming level of ignorance about the Holocaust, especially
among young people."



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