Month: December 2020

Law Enforcement

Germany: Anti-terror data mining ruled unconstitutional Powers granted in 2015 that gave systematic access to an anti-terror database are partially illegal and are now void, says Germany's Constitutional Court.

December 11, 2020   

(Deutsche Welle) Germany’s highest court ruled Friday that a law that gave systematic access by security agencies to a centralized anti-terror database is partially illegal. The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe said that the widespread use of the stored personal data had […]

Legal

Convicted terror leader Abdul Nacer Benbrika still a danger to Australians A convicted terrorist leader who the Australian government believes is too dangerous to be released from jail will find out his fate before Christmas.

December 11, 2020   

(NCA NewsWire) A convicted terrorist who plotted to bomb sites in Melbourne and Sydney will find out before Christmas if he is too dangerous to be released. Abdul Nacer Benbrika has spent the past 15 years behind bars after he was convicted […]

Crime

Amirah Droudis: Lindt cafe terrorist Man Monis’s girlfriend has murder sentence slashed The girlfriend of the Lindt cafe terrorist has had nine years slashed from her sentence for murdering the gunman’s wife.

December 10, 2020   

(NCA NewsWire) Man Monis’s lover has had her jail sentence for murdering the Lindt cafe siege gunman’s former wife slashed by nearly 10 years after the Court of Appeal found his thrall over her was broken by his death. Amirah Droudis, 41, […]

Academics & Education

Only Muslim school in Paris closed down amid claims of Islamophobia France targets the capital’s only school catering to Muslims amid a wider crackdown on the country’s 4.5 million Muslim population.

December 9, 2020   

(TRT) Paris’s only Muslim school was shut down by French authorities while pressure continues to increase on Europe’s largest Muslim community. MHS College and High School is a private secondary in Paris, originally established in 2015. Although the school is officially secular […]

Government & Politics

Committee rules Foreign Minister Haavisto broke law, but shouldn’t be charged — Greens leave dissenting opinion Haavisto's actions in relation to Finnish citizens at the al-Hol camp in Syria are under the microscope.

December 9, 2020   

(Yle) Parliament’s Constitutional Law Committee says Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (Green) broke the law in his efforts to repatriate Finnish citizens from the al-Hol camp in northern Syria — but he should not be prosecuted. At a press conference on Wednesday evening, […]

Legal

Jailed Australian terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika could be a threat from overseas, court told A jailed terror leader who plotted to bomb key Australian locations, including the MCG in Melbourne, could pose a risk even if deported.

December 9, 2020   

(NCA NewsWire) A convicted terrorist who plotted to bomb the MCG and a nuclear reactor could still pose a risk even if deported to Algeria, a court was told. Abdul Nacer Benbrika has spent the past 15 years in prison for plotting […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

New French law may increase discrimination France's government is presenting a draft law to combat 'radical Islamism.' Critics say the measures are inefficient and will further stigmatize Muslims.

December 8, 2020   

(Deutsche Welle) Irfan Thakar and Omar Ahamad feel misunderstood as Muslims in France. They are members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Saint-Prix, a northern suburb of Paris. As the imam, the 30-year-old Thakar regularly leads the prayer at the Moubarak mosque, […]

Legal

Convicted terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika still wants to preach if released from jail A terrorist who plotted to blow up Australian landmarks has revealed what he plans to do once released from jail.

December 8, 2020   

(NCA NewsWire) The jailed terror leader who plotted to bomb Australian landmarks plans to keep preaching if released from jail, a court has been told. Abdul Nacer Benbrika has spent the past 15 years behind bars but lawyers for the Australian government […]

Law Enforcement

FBI quizzed Islamic State fighter about contact with convicted terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika An IS fighter told FBI agents in Syria that he spoke with a convicted Australian terrorist, but his lawyers claim it’s not relevant.

December 7, 2020   

(NCA NewsWire) An Islamic State fighter told FBI agents in Syria that he visited a convicted Australian terrorist in jail before he travelled overseas. But lawyers for terror plotter Abdul Nacer Benbrika argued in the Supreme Court of Victoria that it was […]

Clerics & Preachers

Renowned imam calls on Muslims to engage with France Prominent Islamic scholar [Mohammed] Abu Zaid has urged Muslims in France to cooperate with the government. But he told DW that the authorities should also foster dialogue with the Muslim community.

December 5, 2020   

(Deutsche Welle) France’s latest steps in combating Islamist extremism at home have been closely monitored in Arab countries. The brutal killing of French teacher Samuel Paty, who had shown his pupils cartoons of the prophet Muhammad in class, prompted French President Emmanuel […]