Eye on Extremism
June 1, 2022
Bloomberg: US Supreme Court Halts Texas Law Targeting Social Media Platforms
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“…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.”
The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If you value what we do, please consider making a donation.
