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Eye on Extremism
December 9, 2020
BBC News: Charlie Hebdo Attack: France Seeks Long Jail Terms In Paris Trial
“France's anti-terror prosecutors have called for defendants on trial for a series of militant Islamist attacks in Paris to be given long jail terms. The January 2015 attacks on Charlie Hebdo magazine, a policewoman and a Jewish supermarket left 17 people dead. Fourteen people are appearing in court and three are being tried in absentia. One of those being tried in absentia is Hayat Boumeddiene, the fugitive partner of Amedy Coulibaly who was killed after attacking the supermarket. Two brothers are also being sought. Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for Ali Riza Polat, the main defendant, who is in court. All three actual participants in the 7-9 January 2015 attacks were killed and the defendants, who went on trial in early September, are accused of obtaining weapons or providing logistical support. All 14 in the dock deny the charges and verdicts are expected on 16 December. Prosecutor Julie Holveck told the court that all the defendants had “their share of responsibility” for the deadly process that led up to the attacks and she called for a “firm and balanced” response. It was not a question of making the living pay for the crimes of the dead, she insisted. “They are the kingpin and backbone of this plot.”
ABC News: In Bid To Save Sudan Deal, State Dept. Offers To Compensate Terror Attack Victims
“The Trump administration has offered to create a $150 million fund for victims of the 1998 embassy bombings who have become U.S. citizens, according to State Department documents obtained exclusively by ABC News. The proposal is a breakthrough to resolve issues around the deal signed by Sudan and the Trump administration last month, which has been held up by two senior Democratic senators. But critical issues remain, especially the rights of Sept. 11 victims to pursue litigation against Sudan. With just days until Congress adjourns until 2021, the pressure is on to find a solution and finalize a deal. At stake is the future of Sudan, Africa's third-largest country now governed by a precarious transitional government that splits power between a civilian prime minister and a military chief after 30 years of oppressive autocratic rule, as well as President Donald Trump's push for the country to normalize relations with Israel. The proposal would “provide needed and well-deserved support to a transition in Sudan that is in our strategic interest, ensure fairness to victims of terrorism, and would protect the ground-breaking efforts to transform relations between Israel and its neighbors in the region,” Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun said in a letter to senior lawmakers Sunday that was obtained by ABC News.”
United States
Associated Press: Man Linked To White Supremacist Group Gets 5 Years In Prison
“A Maryland man was sentenced on Tuesday to five years in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from an FBI undercover investigation of a white supremacist group that espoused using violence to accelerate overthrowing the U.S. government. William Garfield Bilbrough IV was an “unabashed” member of the group, called The Base, and participated in its military-style training camps, a federal prosecutor said. Bilbrough, 20, was one of three men arrested in January ahead of a gun rights rally in Richmond, Virginia. Prosecutors have said the two other group members, Brian Mark Lemley Jr. and Patrik Mathews, discussed “the planning of violence” at the Richmond rally. Bilbrough participated in early discussions about traveling to Richmond but had tried to distance himself from the group shortly before his arrest, a prosecutor has said. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang told Bilbrough that his punishment is for his actions, not his extremist ideology. “Regardless of the viewpoints of The Base and its members, the law cannot tolerate the kind of violence that you were facilitating,” Chuang said. “You got yourself off this path before it got too far into violence.” Bilbrough was charged with conspiring to transport and harbor Mathews, who is accused of illegally entering the U.S. from Canada in 2019.”
Miami Herald: Florida Man Seeks Plea Deal After Being Charged With Backing Terror Group ISIS
“A Cuban-born man accused of supporting a foreign terrorist group by distributing propaganda videos on social media is being held in a Miami federal lockup, according to court records. Jonathan Guerra Blanco, 23, who lives near Fort Myers, was denied bail and charged this past week in Miami with providing material support to ISIS, a spin-off of al-Qaida that has gained notoriety through its Middle East conflicts and decapitations of Western hostages. He was arrested in Miami in September while visiting an undercover FBI operative. Guerra, a naturalized U.S. citizen who faces up to 20 years in prison on the single terrorism charge, has an arraignment set for Jan. 7. His defense attorney, Ana Davide, said Guerra plans to work out a plea deal with the prosecutors in the counter-terrorism section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to limit his potential punishment. “After reviewing the facts associated with this case and after numerous consultations with the government, we expect to resolve this matter in a manner most favorable to my client,” Davide told the Miami Herald Monday.”
Iran
Reuters: U.S. Blacklists Iranian Individual, University Under Terrorism Authority
“The United States imposed terrorism-related sanctions on Hasan Irlu, Iran’s envoy in Yemen, Iran’s Al-Mustafa International University and an Iran-based Pakistani citizen Yousef Ali Muraj, the U.S. Treasury said on Tuesday. In a statement confirming an earlier Reuters report, the Treasury described Irlu as an official of Iran’s elite Quds Force, the overseas arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, and the university as a platform for Quds Force operations and recruitment abroad. It said Muraj supported Quds Force efforts to carry out operations in the Middle East and United States.”
Turkey
Voice Of America: Shadowy Turkish Ultra-Nationalist Group Under Scrutiny In Europe
“A shadowy Turkish ultra-nationalist group is under increasing scrutiny in Europe after French officials banned them for violent actions and inciting hate speech in November. The Grey Wolves have been operating inside Turkey for decades and have been accused of politically motivated violence mainly against left-wing leaders, ethnic Kurds and Turkey’s Alevi sectarian minority. But there are signs the group is increasing its operations abroad. In late October, French police in Decines-Charpieu near Lyon reported four people were injured in violent clashes between Turkish nationalists and Armenians protesting Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Armenians have long said that mass killings of their ancestors in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 should be recognized as a genocide, which Turkey rejects. In November, an Armenian genocide memorial outside Lyon was defaced with yellow graffiti. French Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin later announced via Twitter that the group had been banned in France, saying it “incites discrimination and hatred and is implicated in violent actions.”
Afghanistan
“As the Taliban and the United States were finalizing their February deal, Taliban leaders were in frequent communication with al-Qaeda, consulting with their counterparts on the terms of the agreement and assuring them that they would not be betrayed, according to U.N. monitors. “Al-Qaeda trained the Taliban for the talks,” said Abdul Salam Hanafi, a former Taliban governor who left the group in 2001 but remains in contact with several senior leaders. The active coordination between the two groups has continued to this day, despite the Taliban’s commitment to sever ties as a condition of the peace deal, according to U.N. and Afghan officials and current and former Taliban members. U.S. officials see the Taliban’s pledge as essential to preventing Afghanistan from once again becoming a safe haven for groups with aims of attacking the United States. Since the signing of the U.S.-Taliban deal, al-Qaeda has become more active in Afghanistan, communicating more frequently with Taliban leaders and traveling around the country to rally support among sympathetic local Taliban leadership, according to an Afghan security official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. The ongoing coordination is a reflection of the deep bonds that were forged decades ago over a shared ultrareligious Islamist ideology and al-Qaeda’s early support for a fledgling Taliban.”
Middle East
BBC News: IS Tried To Build Pulse Jet-Powered Drones - Report
“The Islamic State (IS) group attempted to develop high-speed drones powered by pulse jet engines like those used in V-1 bombs dropped on the UK during World War Two, an investigation has found. A conflict monitor revealed the engine in a new report about how IS obtained and made weapons under its “caliphate”. Conflict Armament Research (CAR) said IS had “sophisticated production capabilities for improvised weapons”. IS was declared territorially defeated in Syria and Iraq in March 2019. From 2014, IS had imposed its brutal rule on millions of people, once controlling 88,000 sq km (34,000 sq miles) of territory stretching from western Syria to eastern Iraq. After five years of fierce battles, local forces backed by the US and its allies managed to wrest back all the territory controlled by IS. “No other non-state armed group has matched the scale and ambition of IS weapons production,” Mike Lewis, CAR's head of enhanced investigations, said. Namir Shabibi, the organisation's head of operations in Iraq, said “remaining cells in Iraq and Syria have become increasingly active in the past year”. “Preventing their procurement efforts by spotting the kinds of red flags detailed in this report remains important for countering the group's resurgence.”
Egypt
Al Monitor: Egyptian Forces Kill, Arrest Islamist Fighters In Sinai
“The Egyptian military has reportedly killed dozens of Islamist fighters on the Sinai Peninsula since September.
Egyptian forces killed at least 40 of the fighters since Sept. 1, in addition to destroying 440 hideouts and arms storage areas. They also destroyed 38 vehicles, dismantled 160 explosives, found weapons and arrested more than 20 suspected fighters, The Associated Press reported Tuesday. Various Islamist groups have been fighting the Egyptian state in the Sinai insurgency since 2011. The Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda are among the groups operating in the strategic territory that links the Middle East to Africa. There have been numerous incidents in Sinai recently. In November, IS claimed an attack on an Egyptian gas pipeline to Israel in the northern part of the peninsula. Egypt said it conducted successful attacks on IS in Sinai in September. Egyptian security forces have also clashed with Islamist fighters in the greater Cairo area this year. Egypt has one of the most powerful militaries in the region, in part because of decades of US military aid. Egypt has a peace treaty with Israel, which is located on the other side of Sinai. Also this week, French President Emmanuel Macron said France would continue to sell weapons to Egypt, despite human rights concerns about President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s rule.”
Agence France-Presse: IS Steps Up Sinai Fight With Bombs In Civilian Homes
“Residents of Egypt's restive North Sinai region ran for their lives when an Islamic State group affiliate occupied their villages. Now, they are returning to find their homes booby-trapped. “I lost my sister-in-law and her nine-month-old baby when an explosive device planted in their home went off,” said a young resident of Aqtiya village, who asked not to be named for fear of repercussions. Around 15 people have been killed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) since mid-October in villages around Bir al-Abd, in the northwest of the troubled province, say Egyptian security sources. The IED attacks that have multiplied in the vast, remote and sparsely populated region which authorities have declared off-limits to journalists recall those the IS launched to sow terror in Iraq and Syria. The recent deaths have badly shaken the 1,000 or so residents who returned in October after seeking refuge elsewhere in Egypt for three months as the army continued its grinding battle to crush IS. Another resident, speaking to AFP by phone, said locals found IS had taken over their homes, used them as hideouts and then booby-trapped them. “They even stole our livestock,” he added. Egyptian security forces have been battling a long-running Islamist insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula, spearheaded by a local IS affiliate.”
Africa
Reuters: U.S. Counterterrorism Chief Says Mozambique Militants Are Islamic State Affiliate
“The insurgency in northern Mozambique is a “committed” affiliate of Islamic State and should be seen as a global terrorism issue, the U.S. counterterrorism coordinator said on Tuesday, pledging to support the government against the militant group. Islamist militants in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province - home to gas projects worth $60 billion - are gaining ground. Violence spilled across the border into Tanzania in October, prompting the two countries to launch joint military operations. “The United States wants to be Mozambique's security partner of choice,” Coordinator for Counterterrorism Nathan Sales said in a call with journalists after he visited Mozambique and neighbouring South Africa. “Regardless of the origins of these violent networks or individuals who participated in them, what we're seeing today is a committed ISIS affiliate that embraces the ISIS ideology, that embraces the ISIS tactics and procedures, and embraces the ISIS vision of a caliphate with territorial control,” said Sales. It was the clearest insight yet into Washington's perspective on the escalating conflict in Mozambique. In recent years the United States has shifted its priorities away from counterterrorism in favour of tackling what it sees as great power rivalry with China and Russia on the African continent and elsewhere.”
France
France 24: Macron Seeks Cabinet Backing For New Law Tackling Islamist Extremism
“French President Emmanuel Macron will on Wednesday seek his cabinet's blessing for a draft law targeting what he refers to as Islamist “separatism”, which some fear will stigmatise the French Muslim community, Europe's largest. The text was originally titled the “anti-separatism” bill, a term Macron has used to refer to radical Islamists withdrawing from mainstream society. Following criticism of that term, it is now called a “draft law to strengthen republican values”, mostly secularism and freedom of expression. The law was in the pipeline before the murder in October of Samuel Paty, a junior high school teacher who was attacked in the street and beheaded after showing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in a civics class. But the killing, committed by an 18-year old Chechen after a virulent social media campaign against the teacher, gave new impetus to the bill. It prompted the inclusion of the specific crimes of online hate speech and divulging personal information on the internet.”
Europe
Agence France-Presse: Jihadism In Spain: A Silent But Real Threat
“Europe's latest jihadist attacks may have targeted France and Austria, but Spain, like the rest of the continent, remains within the sights of extremists and the threat level is still “severe”, experts say. The issue has returned to the headlines in Spain since last month, with three men currently on trial near Madrid for helping the jihadists behind the 2017 vehicle attacks in Barcelona and a nearby resort that killed 16 and was claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group. The trial is due to end on December 16. There have also been a string of arrests in recent weeks, including a Moroccan imam who, according to police, provided “logistical support” to an IS militant in Syria allowing him to settle in Spain in 2018. There are five levels of threat in Spain and since 2015, the country has been at level four, meaning the threat of an attack is considered high. Speaking at a recent forum organised by the Real Instituto Elcano think tank, Spain's junior security minister Rafael Perez Ruiz said jihadism was “the main threat to our country and the international community as a whole”. And the response, he said, was playing out on two fronts: in Spain and in Africa's vast, arid Sahel region, particularly in Mali, which in recent years has become a breeding ground for jihadist groups, turning it into “the epicentre of the terror threat.”
Canada
Montreal Gazette: Member Of Toronto 18 Terror Group Is Granted Day Parole In Quebec
“A convicted terrorist who was part of a group that plotted to blow up the Toronto Stock Exchange and a Canadian military base has been granted day parole following a hearing Tuesday at a penitentiary in the Eastern Townships. “You will not be sorry,” Shareef Abdelhaleem told the two Parole Board of Canada members who granted him the release even though his case management team advised against it. “You will never hear from me again.” However, Abdelhaleem will have to appear before the board in six months if he wants to ask for full parole. The board agreed to release him to “closed day parole” — an apparent reference to a halfway house run by Correctional Service Canada rather than by a community group. One reason why his case management team did not recommend his release was that he was rejected as a candidate at Résidence Emmanuel-Grégoire, a halfway house in eastern Montreal. Abdelhaleem planned to study online courses there, but there were concerns over whether his access to the internet could be monitored. Although he is from Ontario, Abdelhaleem hoped to reside in Montreal during his day parole because a condition of his release would have required him to stay away from Toronto, unless he got authorization from his parole officer.”
Australia
The Guardian: Alleged Neo-Nazi Teenager Arrested In NSW To Face Terror Charges
“A New South Wales teenager who allegedly expressed neo-Nazi and white supremacist views is facing terrorism-related charges, with police claiming he expressed support for “a mass casualty event” and accessed material online relating to bomb-making. The 18-year-old from Albury on the NSW-Victoria border was arrested on Wednesday morning by members of the NSW joint counter terrorism team, which is made up of officers from the Australian federal police and the NSW police force. The arrest came as federal parliament’s powerful security committee launched an inquiry into extremist movements and radicalism in Australia – including the far right – after a referral from the home affairs minister, Peter Dutton. AFP assistant commissioner Scott Lee said police expected to charge the 18-year-old with “advocating terrorism and also inciting others to commit acts of violence against the community”. “The male we’ve arrested has an extremely rightwing ideology and is focused on neo-Nazi, white supremacist and anti-Semitic material,” Lee told reporters on Wednesday. Lee alleged the man had been “accessing and engaging [with] extreme rightwing material” including “bomb-making materials” which he had allegedly shared “to urge others to commit terrorist acts and violence against community members.”
New Zealand
CNBC: YouTube Radicalized The Christchurch Shooter, New Zealand Report Concludes
“The Australian terrorist who killed 51 people during Friday prayers at two mosques in Christchurch in 2019 was radicalized by YouTube, according to a report from The New Zealand Royal Commission published on Tuesday. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she plans to talk to YouTube’s leaders about the platform’s role in the mass murder, which was committed by Brenton Tarrant, according to the Australian Associated Press. Tarrant was sentenced to life in prison without parole in August. “What particularly stood out was the statement that the terrorist made that he was ‘not a frequent commentator on extreme right-wing sites and YouTube was a significant source of information and inspiration’,” Ardern reportedly said. “This is a point I plan to make directly to the leadership of YouTube.” The authors of the report state that they have “no doubt” the shooter “subscribed to right-wing channels on YouTube.” In one of the sections of the report called “The terrorist,” they write that he viewed content promoting extreme right-wing and ethno-nationalist views on sites like 4chan and 8chan. “He also spent much time accessing broadly similar material on YouTube,” the authors said.”
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