UK Counter-Terrorism (merged thread)

[davidbfpo]

His day in court:

Passing sentence, the judge, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave, said he would be treating the incident as a terrorist offence.In a January 2016 immigration interview, Hassan told officials he had been in contact with the Islamic State group and had been "trained to kill". The trial also heard he blamed the UK for the death of his father in Iraq.
The judge told Hassan: "There is no doubt that you are a very dangerous and devious individual. You quietly went about planning and executing this terrorist bomb attack with ruthless determination and almost military efficiency, whilst pretending to be a model asylum-seeker. I am satisfied you were determined to create as much death and carnage that day as possible."

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43519540

The day before there was a report that the police investigation had missed his motivation; clearly the judge did not need that evidence:

Our investigations show that police found evidence of Hassan’s affiliation with the terrorist group, but misinterpreted the material and sent flawed information to prosecutors.

Link:https://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...-a8267601.html

[davidbfpo]

From the BBC Newsnight team and placed on YouTube (19 mins):

A year ago a 52 year old British man - Khalid Masood - brought terror to the heart of Westminster. More than fifty people were injured - five were killed. This Newsnight investigation by Richard Watson and Maria Polachowska reports on who he was and how he was radicalised.

Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEXNuVFVfDM

[davidbfpo]

A quick overview on this problem by James Brandon and an almost laughable, sadly true passage:

In contrast to this tough approach abroad, the treatment of many returnees has been exceedingly lenient, with only a fraction of returnees prosecuted. Indeed, a recent parliamentary report on terrorist sentencing recommended that—such was the level of prison radicalization and that absence of an effective de-radicalization scheme—those convicted of more minor terrorism offensives should receive a non-custodial sentence.

Link:https://jamestown.org/program/the-th...liphates-fall/

[davidbfpo]

A long article reflecting on Fusilier Rigby's murder (run down by a car and knifed / axed) nearly five years ago by Raffaello Pantucci, of RUSI and sub-titled:

The murder of Lee Rigby five years ago ushered in a wave of ‘easy’ extremist violence. But will such random acts result in radical Islam losing its malign ideological power?

Link:https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...urder-woolwich

[AdamG]

A British teenager was convicted Monday of plotting a grenade attack on the British Museum after failing in her ambition to become a jihadi bride in Syria.

Safaa Boular, 18, of London was found guilty of preparing acts of terrorism. Her mother and sister admitted helping her, making the case Britain’s first involving an all-female cell of Islamic state-inspired plotters.

Boular plotted a grenade and gun attack in messages exchanged with her ISIS lover, who she hoped to marry before he was killed in 2017, prosecutors said. Boular “bonded” with her lover over their favorite show “Deal of No Deal” and the couple discussed how they’d kill former President Obama.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/06...er-sister.html

[davidbfpo]

There are two UK extensive articles on this trial, where the sentences have not been given yet. The BBC:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44359958 and The Guardian:https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...le-terror-cell

As one SME remarked:

Much has been written about the power of Isis’s tactics to attract young recruits to Syria. According to Dr Joana Cook, a senior research fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence at King’s College London, this case reflects a trend largely unique to Isis – the involvement of young women. “When we see younger women involved in terrorist organisations, there’s automatically a general assumption that they are groomed,” Cook told the Guardian. “For some cases this very well may be correct. But there’s also a tendency in analysing cases like this to not recognise the agency and independent choice that some women may have to become involved in plots like this, or to engage and reach out to actors that might facilitate it.”

[davidbfpo]

Last week the UK government published an updated edition of 'Operation Contest', along with attendant publicity and with some new legislation being presented to Parliament.

The Home Secretary, Sajid Javid (IIRC a non-practicing Muslim), placed an emphasis in his speech on:

Ultimately, our approach is about ensuring that there are no safe spaces for terrorists...First, we will work to disrupt threats earlier and we are bringing forward new legislation to enable us to do that.WeÂ’ll intervene earlier in investigations.....Fourth, we will work more closely with key partners outside of central government. We are piloting new multi-agency centres in London, Manchester and the West Midlands, to bring together the widest range of partners and improve our understanding of those at risk of becoming involved in terrorism. No government can say it will be possible to stop every single attack before it happens.This is the reality.

Link:http://https://www.gov.uk/government...orism-strategy

One London-based writer was very critical:

Javid is now in danger of capitulating to terrorismÂ’s prime goal, which is to undermine the liberties and dignities of the state. Britain is utterly obsessed with terrorism....We must be educated to accept a balance of risk. Terrorists aim to change our way of life. They want to show our much-vaunted freedoms and tolerances to be a sham. The one thing not to do is suggest they might be right. That is what Javid is doing today.

Link:http://https://www.theguardian.com/c...itain-freedom?

In response to the new legislation Liberty, a human rights NGO, has issued a briefing.
Link:https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.u...ll%20FINAL.pdf

In one parliamentary debate the Security Minister (a former Army officer who served in Northern Ireland) stated that "400 fighters had returned from the Middle East, only 10% have been prosecuted".

Yesterday the UK's top police officer responsible for CT issued a statement:

In the year to March 2018, 441 arrests were made, compared to 378 in the preceding year, marking a 17 per cent increase.

Link:http://http://news.met.police.uk/new...st-year-310599

The police statement refers to the published figures and with my emphasis:

143 (32%) resulted in a charge, of which 114 (80%) were terrorism-related and 250 (57%) were released without charge. Individuals can be detained for up to 14 days (solitary confinement) under the Terrorism Act. There were 156 detentions in 2017, only 52 of which led to a charge.

Link:https://assets.publishing.service.go...8-hosb0918.pdf