News: Europe
Irish ISIS bride Lisa Smith is freed from prison (LINK ONLY) [Edited headline]
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Prisons & Parole
Government & Politics
Belgium swaps convicted terrorist to free aid worker jailed in Iran ‘Olivier Vandecasteele is on his way to Belgium,’ PM Alexander De Croo says.
(Politico) Iran has released Olivier Vandecasteele, a Belgian humanitarian worker who had been detained in Iran for more than a year, in exchange for convicted terrorist Assadollah Assadi, who had been imprisoned in Belgium. “Olivier Vandecasteele is on his way to Belgium,” […]
Legal
Abdul Nacer Benbrika: Lawyer for convicted terrorist says Australian government ‘Kafkaesque’ As a trial looms on the detention of a convicted terrorist, his lawyer has bemoaned the 'Kafkaesque' issues in dealing with the Australian government.
(NCA NewsWire) Lawyers acting for a terrorist have bemoaned “Kafkaesque” issues with dealing with the Australian government as a trial date looms on his detention. Abdul Nacer Benbrika was jailed for 15 years in February 2009 after he was convicted on charges […]
Government & Politics
Department defends use of terrorist assessment tool
(AAP) The continuing use of two risk assessment tools for convicted terrorists has been supported by the home affairs department after a report raised doubts about their efficacy. VERA-2R and Radar are used to determine the risk a terrorist poses, which is […]
Clerics & Preachers
Teen’s terror plot against police and soldiers thwarted by mother
(BBC) A teenage Islamic State convert who has admitted plotting attacks on British police and soldiers has had his sentencing delayed after reports he has threatened to behead a prison imam. The judge at the Old Bailey has adjourned the sentencing of […]
Government & Politics
Secret report on terrorist assessment reveals problems
(AAP) A secret assessment of how terrorists are able to be kept behind bars despite completing their sentences has found serious problems. The report, released to AAP under freedom of information laws, found strong doubts about the reliability of the way authorities […]
Crime
Former ISIL recruiter charged with attempted murder in a Kentucky prison
(Lexington Herald Leader) A New York man previously convicted of recruiting people for a terrorist organization has been federally charged with attempting to murder someone in the U.S. prison in McCreary County. Mufid Elfgeeh, of Rochester, New York, is charged with attempted […]
Books
Terrorists limited to two boxes of books in prison cells
(BBC) Limits have been placed on the amount of books convicted terrorists in England and Wales can keep in their prison cells. Extremists will also now be banned from taking a “leading role” in religious services under the new measures. It follows […]
Government & Politics
Belgium studying Iran request for convicted diplomat
(AFP) Belgium said Thursday it is studying a request from Iran for the transfer of one of its diplomats who is serving time on a conviction for terrorism offences. “It is true that Iran has officially requested the transfer of Mr Assadollah […]
Converting to Islam
Muslim gangs tell inmates ‘convert or get hurt’ and offer ‘protection’ to new prisoners if they take up Islam
(LBC) Prison gangs are forcing inmates to convert to Islam with violence, a damning new report has found. Prisoners are missing out on “protection” when they end up behind bars if they do not identify as Muslims, it said. The report into […]
News: Europe
Imprisoned terror convict is denied release over fears of reoffending (LINK ONLY) [Edited headline]
Eye on Islamism is no longer printing excerpts from articles published by certain news sources. To read the original article, click here.
Government & Politics
Belgium denies rumour of Vandecasteele prisoner swap agreement
(Brussels Times) Belgium’s Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne has contradicted an announcement made by Iran that the much-discussed prisoner swap to free Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele has been agreed. Despite long efforts to broker an agreement that would see Vandecasteele liberated […]
News: North America
Parole Board says measures needed to ‘protect society’ as Canadian terrorism convict is released
(Global News) Almost a decade after he became the first person convicted of trying to leave Canada to join a terrorist group, Mohamed Hersi is being released from prison amid concerns he remains a threat. In a decision released on Monday, the […]
Government & Politics
Belgium requests Iran return jailed aid worker
(AFP) Belgium on Tuesday said it had formally asked Iran to repatriate jailed aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele from Tehran, after a disputed prisoner exchange treaty entered into force. Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said she had informed her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian […]
Discrimination & “Islamophobia”
Prison guard gets job back after fired for anti-Muslim meme
(AP) A Connecticut prison guard who was fired in 2021, several years after posting what the state determined to be an anti-Muslim meme on Facebook, has been reinstated to his job. An arbitrator ruled in February that Anthony Marlak’s termination was an […]
Legal
Terror convict back in prison after meetings with Lindh
(AP) A northern Virginia man convicted on terrorism charges as a teenager has been sent back to prison for a year after violating conditions of his release by meeting with convicted Taliban supporter John Walker Lindh and others linked to terrorism. Prosecutors […]
Fasting
Muslim inmate files lawsuit claiming Virginia prison won’t accommodate Ramadan observances Green Rock inmate seeks damages, injunction; action claims 20 others also denied
(Washington Times) A Muslim inmate at the Green Rock Correctional Center in Chatham, Virginia, is suing for what he claims is the prison’s denial of accommodations during Ramadan, a monthlong religious observance that calls for fasting from dawn to sunset. Alexander Crichlow […]
Government & Politics
National security watchdog wants terror laws overhauled
(AAP) Terrorists left to rot in Australian jails long after their prison sentences expire could soon be offered a major reprieve. The national security watchdog has recommended the government scrap the power to detain terrorists on so-called continuing detention orders. The orders […]
Legal
Convicted ISIS supporter sentenced to additional year in prison over meeting with ‘American Taliban’ John Lindh
(CNN) A Virginia man convicted of providing support to ISIS in 2015 was sentenced Thursday to serve an additional year in prison for breaking his release conditions after meeting multiple times with John Walker Lindh, the so-called “American Taliban,” and sharing ISIS […]
Legal
Would-be NYC subway bomber who plotted to blow up Herald Sq. station denied compassionate release
(NY Daily News) A terrorist convicted of plotting to blow up the Herald Square subway station lost another bid in his decadeslong effort to get sprung from prison because the federal judge who handed down his sentence says he hasn’t taken responsibility […]
News: Europe
Revealed: ‘Absolutely committed’ British jihadist was released from prison (LINK ONLY) [Edited headline]
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Health & Medicine
‘The Beatles’ Daesh cell member loses sanity assessment, moved to America’s toughest supermax prison
(Arab News) A member of a Deash cell known as “The Beatles” faces dying alone in an American prison, described by an ex-warden as a “place not designed for humanity,” after his appeal for a sanity assessment was rejected. Having been given […]
Legal
Judge denies convicted terrorist’s plea for compassionate release from Chicago prison
(WLS) In 2011, when federal agents began tracking west suburban teenager Adel Daoud, investigators say he was looking to blow up 29 potential targets. More than a dozen years later, Daoud is looking for compassion from U.S. prosecutors and a federal judge […]
Legal
Lawsuit: Muslims praying at Missouri prison pepper-sprayed
(AP) Muslim men who were praying together in their housing unit at a Missouri prison were doused with pepper spray, physically assaulted by corrections officers and then retaliated against when they complained, according to a lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed Thursday by […]
Government & Politics
Clare O’Neil says protecting Australians is ‘driving force’ for decisions in the case of domestic terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil has faced questions around the release of one of Australia’s most infamous domestic terrorists, as his detention order is set to expire.
(Sky News) Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil has reassured Australians that national security is of utmost importance while being quizzed about the potential release of Abdul Nacer Benbrika. The infamous domestic terrorist’s future is up in the air, with a detention order […]
Legal
Feds rest death penalty case against West Side bike path terrorist Sayfullo Saipov
(NY Daily News) Federal prosecutors rested their death penalty case Wednesday against Sayfullo Saipov, the radical Islamic terrorist who killed eight people on a lower Manhattan bike path. The government wrapped up its case in Manhattan Federal Court after calling several family […]
Legal
Man hurt in NYC bike path attack says he wanted death too
(AP) A Belgian man whose wife lost her legs in a deadly terrorist attack on a New York City bike path said he contemplated suicide after he had largely recovered from his physical wounds. He testified Tuesday as a jury considers the […]
Legal
Bike-path terror defendant is too dangerous for prison, prosecutors say Sayfullo Saipov must die by lethal injection, they argue on the first day of his trial’s punishment phase.
(NY Times) A federal prosecutor told a Manhattan jury on Monday that Sayfullo Saipov, who drove a truck down a crowded West Side bike path in 2017, mowing down eight people without mercy in a terrorist attack, had “not abandoned his jihad, […]
Legal
Court told terrorist detention order ‘likely negligent’
(AAP) How Australia detains suspected terrorists could undergo a major overhaul as a result of a secret report. Abdul Nacer Benbrika has been detained on a continuing detention order (CDO) after serving a 15-year sentence stemming from two terrorism offences. The order […]
Clothing
California senator announces bill to protect religious practices of incarcerated individuals Backers of the bill say that allowing religious detainees and prisoners to wear religious garb does not constitute 'coddling' them.
(Religion News) Rami Nsour, an advocate for the incarcerated, has seen firsthand how difficult it can be for those being held in California’s jails and prisons to practice their faith. As his clients are transferred from one facility to another, he said, […]
Health & Medicine
Terror supporter’s 18-month sentence for porn habit
(AAP) A convicted terror supporter who secretly deleted his violent pornographic browser history from an Australian Federal Police-monitored phone and laptop has been sentenced to more than a year behind bars. Nurse and paramedic Adam Brookman supported Chechen fighters on the frontline […]
Law Enforcement
FBI: ‘American Taliban’ Lindh meets with released extremist
(AP) A northern Virginia man convicted nearly a decade ago of supporting the Islamic State group as a teenager has now been accused of violating his terms of release by meeting with convicted Taliban supporter John Walker Lindh. According to court documents, […]
Government & Politics
Far-right terrorism rise in UK ‘masks threat of Islamist extremism’ Security expert concerned risk is being misjudged and warns of possible ISIS resurgence
(National-UAE) Britain cannot afford to underestimate the threat Islamist terrorism continues to pose to its security, an expert has warned, amid growing emphasis on the rise of far-right ideology among prisoners. Dr Paul Stott, head of security and extremism at Policy Exchange, […]
News: North America
‘ISIS Beatle’ Alexanda Kotey disappears from US prison system records Less than a year after being handed a life sentence, 'ISIS Beatle' Alexanda Kotey has disappeared from federal prison records
(Fox) The notorious terrorist and member of the ISIS cell dubbed “The Beatles,” who was serving a life sentence for the kidnap, torture and murder of western journalists and aid workers in Syria, has disappeared from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), […]
Christians
Lawsuit: Muslim prayer rights denied in Wisconsin jail
(UPI) A Muslim man is asking an appeals court to reverse a ruling to throw out his lawsuit that alleged his constitutional rights were violated when he was forced to say his prayers inside a cell next to a toilet at a […]
Crime
Judge rules against inmate charged with stabbing federal prison guard in Pa.
(PennLive) A man accused of stabbing an Allenwood Federal Penitentiary corrections officer in the eye in 2020 will not be permitted to plead no contest to two of the charges against him. U.S. Middle District Judge Matthew W. Brann Monday ruled justice […]
Law Enforcement
ISIS supporter to be watched in community
(AAP) Jailed after planning a Syria trip to fight for ISIS and thrown back behind bars for owning a prohibited firearm, a Sydney man will now be watched carefully after release. On Friday, the NSW Supreme Court made an extended supervision order […]
Government & Politics
LynnMall terror attack: Chances to direct Samsudeen away from extremism missed — review
(Radio NZ) Police, prisons and spy agencies missed chances to direct the LynnMall terror attacker away from violent extremism, and he was locked up for so long it greatly increased his radicalisation. These are among the “significant deficiencies” found by a hefty […]
Government & Politics
Belgian court puts Iran prisoner-swap treaty on hold Final decision on canceling the treaty set to come ‘within three months.’
(Politico) Belgium’s highest court on Thursday suspended a controversial treaty on prisoner exchanges which could allow an Iranian diplomat convicted of terrorism in Belgium to be sent back to Tehran. “Belgium knows or must know that Iran will not effectively execute the […]
Discrimination & “Islamophobia”
Ron DeSantis: Republican rising star alarms Muslim, Palestinian communities As the Florida governor positions himself for a possible presidential bid, activists and organisers say DeSantis reminds them of bigoted rhetoric birthed in US-led 'war on terror'
(Middle East Eye) In 2006, then-Navy officer Ron DeSantis was an appointed attorney supporting the US military’s mission at Guantanamo Bay. Not much is officially known about his months-long stint at the prison, which at its peak held nearly 800 Muslim men […]
Government & Politics
Terror laws: Australian Human Rights Commission, AFP weigh in on review Controversial legislation that aims to keep terrorists behind bars — even after they’ve completed their jail terms — has been subjected to intense scrutiny.
(NCA NewsWire) A controversial law that aims to keep terrorists behind bars after the completion of their prison sentences is under review. On Monday the independent national security legislation monitor (INSLM), Grant Donaldson SC, continued his assessment of Division 105A of the […]
Academics & Education
Legislation seeks to ensure halal, kosher foods available in hospitals, schools
(Daily Herald) As suburban families prepare to come together this week for Thanksgiving meals, among the meat options they might find at the grocer are halal and kosher turkeys. Halal (permissible) and kosher (pure, proper or suitable for consumption) meats and foods […]
Crime
Dominic Raab warns terrorists over further prison time
(BBC) Terrorist offenders will face longer sentences if they commit crime while in prison, Dominic Raab has said. Currently, prisoners will usually get a maximum sentence of 42 days for offences carried out behind bars. But the justice secretary says crimes committed […]
News: Europe
France has released 343 convicted Islamist terrorists in last four years
(Breitbart) Over the last four years, France has released 343 convicted terrorists from prison, releasing 72 so far this year, with detainees still considered threats and placed under intelligence and judicial supervision. Islamic terrorist convicts are still numerous in French prisons, with […]
Deradicalization
Police attack: Deradicalisation centre wanted ‘full psychological follow-up’ of suspect
(Brussels Times) The deradicalisation centre for the support and care of anyone affected by violent extremism and radicalism (Caprev), which followed up on the suspect of the knife attack — Yassine M. — that killed one police officer and gravely injured another […]
Government & Politics
Convicted al-Qaida terrorist trainer returned to England
(Boston Herald) ICE agents returned a British-born member of al-Qaida, who pleaded guilty in 2015 to trying to start a terrorist training camp in Oregon, to England. Haroon Rashid Aswat, 48, of Batley in West Yorkshire, England, had been at a federal […]
Marriage
Terrorist Abdeslam marries woman he never met in jail
(Brussels Times) French terrorist Salah Abdeslam — who is currently serving a life sentence for his role in the 2015 Paris terror attacks — has married a woman he has never met, French media has reported. According to RTL France, Abdeslam, 33, […]
Crime
Migrant trafficking ring run from prisons busted
(Kathimerini) Police say they have unraveled a migrant trafficking [ring] that operated from within the prisons of Hania on the island of Crete and Korydallos in Attica. The network, one of the largest trafficking circuits in the country, transferred migrants from the […]
Deradicalization
Toronto 18 terrorist leader gets parole after RCMP interrogation to show he isn’t a threat The intense scrutiny of Zakaria Amara's radicalization and subsequent deradicalization while in prison for the past 17 years was his idea. And it paid off
(National Post) Zakaria Amara, leader of an al-Qaida-inspired terrorist plot to explode truck bombs in Ontario in 2006, recently faced two days of interrogation by RCMP national security investigators to assess what threat he might still pose as he sought release on […]
Law Enforcement
Police keep tabs on released terrorists
(AAP) Nineteen jailed terrorists are due for release from custody in Australia in the next five years. The latest annual report by the Australian Federal Police noted there were 55 people serving jail time for terrorism offences. The AFP monitors what are […]