“A divided US Supreme Court blocked a Texas law that critics say would
fundamentally transform Twitter Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook by requ





 


 


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Eye on Extremism


June 1, 2022

 

Bloomberg: US Supreme Court Halts Texas Law Targeting Social Media Platforms
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“A divided US Supreme Court blocked a Texas law that critics say would
fundamentally transform Twitter Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook by
requiring them to allow hate speech and extremism. Over four dissents, the
justices on Tuesday put the measure on hold while a constitutional challenge
goes forward in a lower court, granting a request from tech groups that
represent the platforms. A federal appeals court let the law, known as HB20, go
into effect earlier this month. The tech groups, which also represent Alphabet
Inc.’s Google, said the measure would unconstitutionally bar platforms from
removing neo-Nazi and Ku Klux Klan screeds or Russian propaganda about its
invasion of Ukraine. The Supreme Court order “means that private American
companies will have an opportunity to be heard in court before they are forced
to disseminate vile, abusive or extremist content under this Texas law,” said
Matt Schruers, president of the Computer & Communications Industry Association,
one of the groups pressing the case. The court, as is its custom with emergency
requests, gave no explanation. An unusual collection of justices dissented:
liberal Elena Kagan and conservatives Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil
Gorsuch. The Texas law bars social media platforms with more than 50 million
users from discriminating on the basis of viewpoint.”

 

Reuters: Islamic State Claims Responsibility For Killing 15 In East Congo
Village
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“Islamic State on Tuesday claimed responsibility for an attack that killed at
least 15 civilians in a village in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo on
Sunday, the militant group said on an affiliated Telegram channel. A rights
group and a local official said on Monday that fighters believed to be members
of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) stormed the village of Bulongo in North
Kivu province after dark on Sunday, pillaging homes, murdering inhabitants that
crossed their path and setting fire to six vehicles. Read full story. The ADF
is a Ugandan militia that has been active in east Congo since the 1990s and
killed scores of civilians, many in middle-of-the-night attacks carried out
with machetes and hatchets. It pledged alliance to Islamic State in 2019.
Islamic State claimed its members killed nearly 20 Christians and set fire to
six trucks in the attack using machine guns, and returned to their bases
unhurt.”

 

United States

 

The Washington Post: Judge In New York Hands Man Longer Sentence
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“A federal judge on Tuesday increased her sentence for a New York City man
who planned to join the Islamic State and attacked an FBI agent to 25 years,
after a federal appeals court called the original 17-year sentence “shockingly
low.” Fareed Mumuni, 27, pleaded guilty in 2017 to discussing plans to travel
overseas to join the militant group and trying to stab an FBI agent after
authorities arrived at his residence in the New York City borough of Staten
Island in 2015 to execute a search warrant. The United States brands the
Islamic State a foreign terrorist organization. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn
successfully appealed Mumuni’s 2018 sentence, with the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the 2nd Circuit arguing that U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie had
improperly second-guessed whether Mumuni truly planned to kill FBI Special
Agent Kevin Coughlin, who survived the attack. “I got lucky,” Coughlin said in
the sentencing hearing Tuesday. Mumuni told Coughlin he was sorry. “I can’t
apologize enough for what I’ve done,” said Mumuni, the son of immigrants from
Ghana who once interned as a paralegal at the Staten Island district attorney’s
office and had been studying to be a social worker and working as a home health
aide when he was recruited to ISIS. Prosecutors on Tuesday asked Brodie to
sentence Mumuni to the 85 years recommended by federal guidelines.”

 

Associated Press: Biden Talks Gun Control, Extremism With New Zealand's PM
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“President Joe Biden praised New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on
Tuesday for her success in curbing domestic extremism and guns as he tries to
persuade a reluctant Congress to tighten gun laws in the aftermath of horrific
mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York. The long-planned talks
between Biden and Ardern centered on trade, climate and security in the
Indo-Pacific, but the two leaders' starkly different experiences in pushing for
gun control loomed large in the conversation. Ardern successfully won passage
of gun control measures in her country after a white supremacist gunman killed
51 Muslim worshippers at two Christchurch mosques in 2019. Less than a month
later, all but one of the country’s 120 lawmakers voted in favor of banning
military-style semiautomatic weapons. Biden told reporters at the start of his
meeting with Ardern that he “will meet with the Congress on guns, I promise
you,” but the White House has acknowledged that winning new gun legislation
will be an uphill climb in an evenly divided Congress. The U.S. president
praised Ardern for her “galvanizing leadership” on New Zealand's efforts to
curb the spread of extremism online, and said he wanted to hear more about the
conversations in her country about the issue.”

 

Turkey

 

The National: Turkey Calls On German And French Envoys To Protest Against
Kurdish Militant Events
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“Turkey summoned the German and French ambassadors to Ankara to protest
against events organised by Kurdish militants in their countries. The envoys
were told of Turkey's discomfort with the events organised by the Kurdistan
Workers Party, or PKK, considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US
and the EU, state-run Anadolu news agency cited Turkey's Foreign Minister
Mevlut Cavusoglu as saying on Tuesday. On a possible operation in northern
Syria, Mr Cavusoglu vowed to “eliminate terrorist threat at home and abroad —
in Syria and wherever it is”. Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
revealed plans for a cross-border incursion against Kurdish militants in Syria
to create a 30-kilometre buffer. Ankara staged a military operation against the
Kurdish group YPG, or People’s Protection Units, in October 2019. Russia, the
Syrian government, and the US have troops in the border region. Turkish
officials consider the YPG to be a terrorist group linked to the outlawed PKK,
which has waged an insurgency against Turkey since 1984, leading to tens of
thousands of deaths. The YPG is central to US-led forces in the fight against
ISIS in Syria. On Russia-Ukraine war, there was a possibility of bringing the
parties together, perhaps at leadership level, as part of Turkey's negotiation
efforts, Mr Cavusoglu said.”

 

Afghanistan

 

AFP: Tajikistan Says Five Killed In ‘Anti-Terror’ Operation In East
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“Tajikistan’s authoritarian government said that five people had been killed
Tuesday in an “anti-terror operation” in a troubled region bordering
Afghanistan and China. The five “members of an organized criminal and terrorist
group were neutralized” after “armed resistance”, the state information service
said, citing the interior ministry. The statement said that the operation was
carried out on Tuesday morning and that the men resisted calls to surrender.
Tajikistan announced an “anti-terror operation” earlier this month after
protests in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region that it has long struggled
to control. The new casualties bring the official death toll from the operation
up to 14, with just one military death, although unofficial accounts suggest a
higher figure. The sudden hostilities in the mountainous region prompted
concern from Western governments and Human Rights Watch, which has highlighted
a communications blackout imposed on the region. Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous
Region, commonly known by its Soviet-era acronym GBAO, has been a periodic
flashpoint since the end of a five-year civil war in Tajikistan in the 1990s.
The government said this month that one of its main opponents in the region,
Mamadbokir Mamadbokirov, was killed “as a result of internal clashes of
criminal groups,” sparking fears of further escalation.”

 

Pakistan

 

Foreign Policy: Pakistan Sponsored Terror Next Door. Now, It’s Back To Roost
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“The United Nations Security Council has confirmed the resurgence of al
Qaeda, the terrorist group behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that is closely
tied to the Taliban and is using their return to power in Afghanistan to find
safe haven, attract recruits, and boost fundraising for their never-ending
jihad. Al Qaeda’s leader, Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri, who succeeded Osama bin
Laden in 2011, and other core members of the group’s leadership are living in
eastern Afghanistan as the Taliban’s guests, a report by the U.N. Security
Council notes. The U.N. report says Zawahiri is churning out propaganda videos,
apparently comfortable that he can “lead more effectively” than was possible
before last year’s Taliban victory over the United States. The biggest loser of
the Taliban’s resurgence, other than the Afghan people, is perhaps Pakistan.
The U.N. report throws a harsh spotlight on Pakistan’s dilemma as it struggles
with an insurgency on its own soil after 20 years of supporting the Taliban’s
war over the border in Afghanistan. The growing militant threat in Pakistan now
comes largely from Afghanistan, where the Taliban are harboring an al Qaeda
affiliate that aims to bring down the government in Islamabad.”

 

Middle East

 

The Times Of Israel: Hamas Cell Commander Given Life Sentence For 2019 Slaying
Of Student
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“An Israeli military court on Tuesday sentenced a Palestinian man to life in
prison for killing an Israeli teenager in 2019. Ahmad Asafra was handed an
additional 25-year sentence and ordered to pay NIS 1.5 million ($450,000) to
the family of Dvir Sorek. Sorek, 18, was stabbed to death near the West Bank
settlement of Migdal Oz in August 2019. He was a yeshiva student enrolled in a
program known as hesder that combines Torah study with military service. He was
not in the military at the time of his killing. In February, Asafra was
convicted of intentionally causing the death of Sorek, as well as a series of
security offenses. The main charge is equivalent to murder in the West Bank
military court. The court determined that Asafra was the commander of a Hamas
terror cell that carried out the stabbing attack. The court accepted the
prosecution’s position that Asafra was guilty of the attack, although he was
not present at the time of the stabbing. Another member of the cell, Yusef
Zohar, was not present during the attack, but was convicted of a number of
security offenses and was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 15 years. In
December, Qassem Asafra and Nasir Asafra were sentenced to life imprisonment
for the attack. Qassem Asafra was handed an additional 40-year sentence, and
Nasir Asafra an additional 20 years. The pair are cousins; it’s unclear how
they are related to Ahmad Asafra.”

 

Nigeria

 

Sahara Reporters: ISWAP Terrorists Now In Yoruba-Speaking Part Of Kogi, Claims
Responsibility For Kabba Sunday Night Bomb Explosion
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“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 has claimed responsibility for an explosion that rocked the ancient
town Kabba in the Kogi West Senatorial District. The Sunday night explosion was
the second in the community in one month. The first explosion which generated
controversies as to whether it was a bomb or a gas cylinder, occurred on May 11
at a beer parlour around Lewu Junction in Kabba town. That explosion claimed
three lives out of the 16 persons affected. Kabba is the headquarters of the
Kabba/Bunnu Local Government Area and the people speak a dialect of Yoruba
called Owe. The town is less than 10 minutes to Akunnu-Akoko and Ajowa-Akoko in
Ondo State and less than 20 minutes to Emure in Ekiti State. The latest
explosion happened at one Omofemi Bar at Okepadi Quarters, Kabba, around 9.15
pm on Sunday. The Kogi Police Public Relations Officer, William Ovye-Ayaz, who
confirmed the incident said there was no casualty. “As it is now, there is no
casualty, but only chairs and tables and the building was affected by the
yet-to-be-determined nature of the explosion. “Already the Commissioner of
Police, Mr Edward Egbuka, has directed our DC Investigations and the bomb
detective squad to move to the scene to ascertain the very nature of the
explosion.”

 

Africa

 

All Africa: Mozambique: Assembly Passes Bill On Anti-Terrorism Legal Framework
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“The Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, on 18 May passed
the first reading of a bill revising the legal regime applicable to the
prevention and repression of terrorism and connected crimes. The bill
establishes the procedures to designate individuals, groups and entities
associated with terrorist crimes and to freeze their funds and assets. It seeks
to embargo the movements of individuals associated with terrorism or suspected
of financing terrorism. Other aspects of the bill concern preventing
radicalisation, measures for electronic security and surveillance,
criminalising public support for terrorism, and refusing to grant Mozambican
nationality to those suspected of involvement in terrorist acts. The bill only
passed because of the absolute majority of the ruling Frelimo Party in the
Assembly. Both opposition parties, Renamo and the Mozambique Democratic
Movement (MDM), abstained because they objected to an article which could limit
press freedom. The controversial article says that anyone intentionally
spreading information about a terrorist act, knowing that the information is
false, can be punished with a prison term of between eight and 12 years. The
Assembly's Commission on Constitutional and Legal Affairs softened this article
with an amendment that reduced the proposed prison term to between two and
eight years.”

 

Germany

 

AFP: Germany Sentences Five Tajiks To Jail Over ISIS Plot
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“A German court on Tuesday convicted five Tajik men for their membership of
an ISIS cell that planned terrorist attacks in Germany and abroad. The men,
aged 25 to 34, were given jail terms of between three years and eight months to
nine-and-a-half years, a court in Duesseldorf said. They are believed to have
moved in the same circles as the Tajik-born perpetrator behind the Stockholm
truck attack of April 2017, as well as the Macedonian-Austrian national who
gunned down four people in Vienna in November 2020. Sunatullokh K., 26, was
handed the longest sentence for planning to shoot dead a YouTuber critical of
Islam, who is based in Neuss, western Germany. The assault was foiled by
investigators, said the court. Farhodshoh K., 33, received eight-and-a-half
years for plotting a contract murder in Albania. The court said the killing was
not carried out only because the perpetrators had “doubts about the identity of
the target person during surveillance.” The other three men, 34-year-old
Muhammadali G., 29-year-old Azizjon B. and Komron B., 25, were convicted for
their participation in a terrorist organization. All five had arrived in
Germany as refugees. From 2019, the men were in contact with a leading ISIS
member in Afghanistan who transmitted to them radical extremist ideology.
ISIS-linked extremists have committed several violent attacks in Germany in
recent years, with the worst being a ramming attack at a Berlin Christmas
market in December 2016 that killed 12.”

 

Europe

 

Al Bawaba: EU Slaps Sanctions On Al-Qaida-Linked Group
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“…According to the Counter Extremism Project, a nonprofit international
policy organization that aims to counter terrorism, Hurras al-Din formed in
late February 2018 in a merger of seven Syrian rebel factions with 10 more
joining in the following months. The EU accuses the militant group of being
involved in the planning of terrorist operations under the umbrella of al-Qaida
and has established training camps in Syria. The group also includes several
Europeans among its fighting ranks, it said. “Through propaganda activities,
the sanctioned group and individuals have also played a key role in promoting
al-Qaida's violent jihadist ideology and in inciting terrorist acts in support
of al-Qaida,” the council said. “Hurras al-Din and its two leaders, therefore,
pose a serious and continued threat to the EU and to regional and international
stability.” The United States under the previous administration of President
Donald Trump designated Hurras al-Din and al-Suri as Specially Designated
Terrorists in September 2019. The State Department's Rewards for Justice also
offered a $5 million reward for information on al-Suri. Since September 2016,
when the EU became able to impose automatic sanctions against those connected
to IS and al-Qaida, 10 individuals and three groups have been targeted.”

 

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