“The Supreme Court (SC) has deliberated and ruled on the controversial
anti-terrorism law, an official confirmed on Tuesday. In a statement, SC Public

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


December 8, 2021  

 

CNN Philippines: Supreme Court Rules On Anti-Terrorism Law, Decision Out Soon
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“The Supreme Court (SC) has deliberated and ruled on the controversial
anti-terrorism law, an official confirmed on Tuesday. In a statement, SC Public
Information Office chief Atty. Brian Hosaka said there would be a thorough
review of the justices' votes given a string of issues resolved in the case.
“Considering that there were numerous issues resolved in the case, as well as
the fact that each Justice had to vote on each issue, there is a need to
accurately confirm and tally the vote of each Justice in order to ensure the
correct resolution of the Court per issue,” Hosaka said. He vowed the high
court would release an “accurate summary” of its action on the highly-contested
measure “at the soonest possible time.” Thirty-seven petitions have been filed
challenging the constitutionality of the anti-terrorism law, which critics have
labeled as “vague” and may be open to abuse and human rights violations.
Several government officials have repeatedly dismissed these claims, saying
there are enough safeguards in place to protect the rights of citizens. The
high court wrapped up its oral arguments on the measure back in May. Chief
Justice Alexander Gesmundo earlier said the fate of the pleas may be known
before the year ends.”

 

Fox News: Religious Freedom Advocates Ask Biden To Put Nigeria Back On
Watchlist For Anti-Christian Violence
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“A broad array of religious freedom advocates has banded together in asking
President Biden to put Nigeria back on the State Department's list of countries
of particular concern (CPC) on religious freedom, citing the ongoing violence,
killing and displacement of Christians at the hands of Boko Haram, Fulani
militants and other mostly Muslim aggressors. Last month, Secretary of State
Antony Blinken removed Nigeria from the list. A coalition of 12 organizations
and 30 advocates, including Christians who faced persecution in the Muslim
world, like Andrew Brunson (a former prisoner in Turkey), Mariam Ibraheem (who
was sentenced to death for “apostasy” in Sudan) and Joy Bishara (a survivor of
the Boko Haram kidnappings), praised former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's
decision to place Nigeria on the CPC list in December 2020 and urged Biden to
return to that designation. “The ongoing violence, killing, and displacement
against Christians and others have only increased,” the advocates, organized by
the Family Research Council (FRC), wrote in a letter provided to Fox News. “In
fact, during 2021, massacres happen almost nightly, while by day, young boys
are killed in the fields. Pregnant women are brutally dismembered, their babies
mutilated before their eyes. And now, an entire church congregation has been
abducted and held captive.”

 

United States

 

ABC News: Survivors Of The Pensacola Terror Attack Speak Out
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“Two years after the Pensacola air base terror attack, Navy veteran George
Johnson, 27, can still remember the moment he came face-to-face with Saudi
Arabian Air Force officer Mohammed Alshamrani, who shot and killed three and
injured eight others. “I looked him dead in the eye. He looks into the office
and passes me, doesn't say a word, but a smirk,” Johnson recalled. During the
early morning hours of Dec. 6, 2019, Alshamrani walked into a pilot training
school at the Pensacola Naval Base and opened fire. The first shots were fired
at the watch station at the training school in building 633. Sailors Kaleb
Watson, 23, and Cameron Walters, 21, were killed while standing guard. Later,
Alshamrani shot and killed 19-year-old sailor Mohammed Haitham, who had
confronted the shooter. Alshamrani, 21, was a Saudi Arabian Air Force Officer
training at the U.S. Navy base in Florida. He was a part of a pilot training
program where Saudi officers and other foreign pilots were learning how to fly
American fighter jets on the base. The program was tied to billions of dollars
in U.S. arms sales to the country. Secretly, Alshamrani had pledged allegiance
to terrorist group Al Quaeda. Following the shooting, Saudi Arabia condemned
the attack, extended its condolences and pledged cooperation with the U.S.”

 

PBS: WATCH: House Oversight Subcommittee Hearing On Al-Qaida, ISIS And Other
Militant Groups
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“The House National Security subcommittee held a hearing at 9:30 a.m. on
“Examining the Worldwide Threat of al Qaeda, ISIS and Other Foreign Terrorist
Organization”. Watch the hearing in the player above. Those testifying included
State Department Acting Principal Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism
Christopher Landberg and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special
Operations and Combating Terrorism Milancy Harris.”

 

Syria

 

Kurdistan 24: US-Backed SDF Arrest Two Suspected ISIS Members In Syria's Deir
Al-Zor
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“In a joint operation with the US-led coalition against ISIS, the US-backed
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrested two of the terrorist group's
“facilitators” in the Deir al-Zor region on Tuesday. The US Special Operations
Joint Task Force-Levant (SOJTF LEVANT), which oversees activities in Syria,
Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt, announced that the SDF carried out the
operation against ISIS in a Tuesday tweet. “The partnership between the
Coalition and the SDF is built on cooperation that serves to enable SDF's
military capacity and promote security and stability in NE Syria (Northeast
Syria),” the official account of the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation
Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), the US-led coalition against ISIS, tweeted on
Monday. “The fight to #DefeatDaesh continues and we are #StrongerTogether.”
Even though ISIS lost the entirety of its self-styled caliphate over two years
ago, the group still has networks of sleeper cells operating across northeast
Syria that continue to threaten the security of that region. Most of these
attacks are in Arab-majority Deir al-Zor. The SDF also arrested an alleged ISIS
facilitator in Raqqa in a previous joint operation with the US-led coalition on
Nov. 30.”

 

Iraq

 

Reuters: Motorcycle Bomb Kills Four In Iraq, Official Blames Islamic State
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“A bomb killed four people in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Tuesday, the
first such attack in years in a part of the country that has enjoyed relative
stability, and a senior official said Islamic State militants were suspected of
carrying it out. The blast, near a major hospital in the predominantly Shi'ite
Muslim city, was caused by a motorbike rigged with explosives, the military
said in a statement, citing preliminary information. There was no immediate
claim of responsibility. “The blast carries fingerprints of Daesh (Islamic
State),” Basra Governor Asaad al-Edani told reporters. Bomb attacks in the
Basra area been rare - the last major one was in 2017, and claimed by Islamic
State. The authorities have kept a tight grip on the area where the bulk of the
OPEC member's oil is produced and exported. Policemen were collecting body
parts from a minibus that was badly damaged by the blast, a Reuters witness
said. The street was covered with broken glass and blood. The governor
announced three days of mourning. “Today and after this terrorist act, the
people of Basra must definitely be cautious and careful. Basra became unsafe
today,” said Mohammed Ibrahim, a car mechanic whose workshop was near the blast
site.”

 

The Guardian: Iraqis Who Helped ADF Fight Islamic State Say They Have Been
Abandoned By Australia
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“Two dozen Iraqi nationals who served alongside Australian soldiers battling
Islamic State say they have been abandoned in their homeland, living in fear of
militia groups who have sworn retribution against anyone who assisted foreign
forces. “The threat is real and there will not be a ‘warning’ or anything like
that,” said one former interpreter, Mohammed, who has gone into hiding. “The
militias are criminals. They have killed people who worked with foreign forces
before … if they catch me or any of us, there will not be a second chance.” In
2019, the Guardian reported more than 60 ADF interpreters were caught in a
bureaucratic limbo – told they were ineligible for resettlement or unable to
apply for visas from inside Iraq – as their country roiled under sectarian
violence. However, some were subsequently able to get out. In mid-2020, former
interpreters were invited, in an email from Australia’s defence department, to
confirm their interest in applying through Australia’s dedicated Iraq Locally
Engaged Employee (LEE) scheme. At least 35 of those interpreters have since
been granted visas to resettle in Australia: 30 have already moved. But 25 say
they remain stuck in Iraq, their applications to Australia stalled, and with no
response from the Australian government for more than a year.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Associated Press: Desperation Drives Thousands Of Afghans A Day Across Borders
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“Over the course of an hour on a recent night, the bus waiting in the Herat
station filled with passengers. Mostly young men, they had no luggage, just the
clothes on their backs, maybe a bag with some bread and water for the long road
ahead of them. That road is leading them to Iran. Every day, multiple buses
rumble out of Afghanistan’s western city of Herat, carrying hundreds of people
to the border. There they disembark, connect with their smugglers and trek for
days, sometimes crammed into pickup trucks bumping through wastelands,
sometimes on foot through treacherous mountains in the darkness, eluding guards
and thieves. Once in Iran, most will stay there to look for work. But a few
hope to go farther. “We’re going to get to Europe,” said Haroun, a 20-year-old
sitting in the bus next to his friend Fuad. Back in their village there is no
work. “We have no choice, the economy here is a wreck. Even if it means our
death on the way, we accept that.” Afghans are streaming across the border into
Iran in accelerating numbers, driven by desperation. Since the Taliban takeover
in mid-August, Afghanistan’s economic collapse has accelerated, robbing
millions of work and leaving them unable to feed their families.”

 

Nigeria

 

Sahara Reporters: Exclusive: Boko Haram Fighters Take Over Yobe Police
Station, Barracks, Set Operational Vehicles Ablaze
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“Militants from the Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram, the Islamic
State West Africa Province (ISWAP), formerly known as Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah
lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād, have taken over a police station in Buni Yadi town,
Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State. The Nigerian Army had claimed last
week that the insurgents attempted to gain access into the town but met stiff
resistance from troops of 27 Task Force Brigade and Special Forces School,
supported by the Nigerian Air Force component. However, a military source told
SaharaReporters on Tuesday that the terror group stormed the community, took
over the police station and barracks newly renovated by the state government
for several hours. He said the gunmen came in different groups and could not be
counted. The source added that some policemen sustained injuries while others
fled into the bush. It was learnt that the insurgents also “burnt two
operational vehicles and some buildings in the facility.” Since the death of
JAS leader, Abubakar Shekau, ISWAP has been consolidating its grip in locations
around Lake Chad. Just recently, it appointed Wali Sani Shuwaram, a 45-year-old
as the new Leader (Wali) of ISWAP in Lake Chad.”

 

Africa

 

Daily Mail: Sex-Slave Girls Forced To 'Marry' ISIS-Linked Militants Are Raped
Daily After The Terror Group Kidnapped 600 Women And Children In Three Years In
Mozambique, Report Reveals
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“ISIS-linked militants in Mozambique have forced sex-slave girls into marriage
after abducting more than 600 women and children over the past three years, a
new report reveals. Women and young girls were abducted during raids on towns
and villages by the militants known locally as Al-Shabab, who have pledged
allegiance to ISIS, which has claimed responsibility for a number of their
attacks. The group force young women and girls to 'marry' their fighters 'who
enslave and sexually abuse them' while some have been sold off to foreign
militants for between $600 and $1,800, it said. 'An armed group linked to the
Islamic State (ISIS) has since 2018 kidnapped and enslaved more than 600 women
and girls in Mozambique's northern Cabo Delgado province,' Human Rights Watch
said in a statement. Some have been freed by Mozambican and foreign forces
deployed this year to help quell the violence that has wreaked havoc in the
region since October 2017.”

 

Africanews: Jihadist-Hit Niger Urges Crackdown On Libya Arms Traffic
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“President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum on Monday urged his country's allies to
step up the fight against arms trafficking from Libya, which he said is fueling
the Sahel's jihadist insurgency. Bazoum made this call at the opening of a
major security forum in Senegal. “The partners' biggest failure has been their
weak involvement in the fight against arms smuggling from Libya, which is the
most important factor in the prevalence of this terrorism.” “They (the African
states) also need - and this is important - better-tailored help from their
partners, based on intelligence, air support and strengthening the capacities
of their armed forces.” The region's former colonial power, France is leading
European efforts to fight the jihadists, while the UN has a large peacekeeping
force in Mali. “If France and its partners are opposed to Wagner, it is because
they have seen in the Central African Republic their destabilising potential,
the exploitation against the population, the loss of state sovereignty, the
predation of resources, the failure on the operational level, the particular
and economic interests that are placed above that of the population and that is
not compatible with our vision.” At least 12 soldiers and “dozens of
terrorists” were killed in a battle in western Niger on Saturday; the country’s
defense ministry announced Sunday adding the bloodshed has displaced thousands
of civilians.”

 

United Kingdom

 

BBC News: Terror Awareness Warning Ahead Of Christmas In Bedfordshire
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“Christmas shoppers and people attending festive events are being urged to be
vigilant to the threat of terrorism. Bedfordshire Police said the warning
followed the recent increase in the UK's terrorism threat level. More uniformed
officers are expected to be on the streets. Assistant Chief Constable Sharn
Basra said: “It is essential that the public play their part in helping us to
protect the UK. We need you to be vigilant, and we need you to be alert.” On 15
November the UK National Threat Level was raised from substantial to severe,
meaning an attack was highly likely. Mr Basra said: “The public have a very
real impact on the way our police, security and intelligence services fight
terrorism. “In the last year Counter Terrorism Policing received around 10,000
reports from the public about suspected terrorist activity - of those, a fifth
provided useful intelligence which helps officers stop terrorists.” Det Supt
Andy Waldie, head of Counter Terrorism Policing for the eastern region, said:
“We know that after last Christmas, everyone is excited to be able to celebrate
properly this year and join in with the festivities. “However, as recent events
in Liverpool and Essex have shown us, the terrorist threat has not gone away.”

 

Technology

 

Voice Of America: Rohingya Refugees Sue Facebook Over Myanmar Violence
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“Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are taking legal action against Facebook’s
parent company. Their lawsuit accuses the company of failing to stop hate
speech that led to violence. The refugees are seeking $150 million in the
class-action lawsuit. A U.S.-based legal team filed the case Monday in
California. The case argues that Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms,
should be held responsible for not doing enough to stop hateful posts on the
social media service. The lawsuit states that hate speech that was permitted on
Facebook incited violence against the Rohingya Muslim ethnic group by Myanmar’s
military and its supporters. The case is based on the combined legal claims of
Rohingya refugees. It seeks to cover anyone worldwide who survived the violence
or had a family member who died from it. Lawyers in Britain say they plan to
bring a similar lawsuit there. Facebook, which recently changed its corporate
name to Meta Platforms, did not immediately answer requests for comment. In the
past, the company has admitted that it was “too slow to prevent misinformation
and hate” in Myanmar. Facebook said it has since taken steps to reduce the
spread of such content. Members of the Rohingya ethnic group were forced to
flee violence and persecution in Myanmar starting in 2017.”

 

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