Latest news with #Islamist-inspired
Express Tribune
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Tunisia puts more opposition figures on mass trial
A new trial of nearly two dozen Tunisian opposition figures accused of plotting against the state opened on Tuesday, weeks after a separate mass trial jailed nearly 40 defendants on similar charges. The latest trial — known as the "conspiracy against state security II" — involved 22 defendants, including 83-year-old Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party leader Rached Ghannouchi, currently jailed in another case. Youssef Chahed, a former prime minister, and Nadia Akacha, once the head of the presidential office, were also among the defendants, according to court documents. The defendants were accused of terror-related charges, incitement to murder, and "plotting against state internal security", among other charges, according to a court document. The majority of the defendants are being tried in absentia, having fled the country, lawyer Samir Dilou said. Ghannouchi was already sentenced in early February to 22 years in prison — also for plotting against state security in a different case. He had been the speaker of parliament when President Kais Saied staged a sweeping power grab in 2021. In this case, Ghannouchi as well as other Ennahdha officials stand accused of setting up a "secret security apparatus" in service of the party, which had dominated Tunisia's post-revolution politics. Tunisia had emerged as the Arab world's only democracy following the ouster of longtime ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, after it kicked off the Arab Spring uprisings. Tuesday's hearing was conducted remotely with only four defendants attending virtually, according to lawyers. Last month's similar trial had drawn criticism from the United Nations, which said it was "marred by violations of fair trial and due process rights". But Saied dismissed the "comments and statements by foreign parties" as "blatant interference in Tunisia's internal affairs". In a statement on Monday, Tunisia's main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front (FSN), called for "an end to sham and unfair trials", demanding "the release of all political prisoners".
Daily Mail
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Drug dealing 'cancer' has reached every corner of France with no 'safe places' left and even 'the slightest rural village has cocaine and cannabis, justice minister admits
France is suffering a ' cancer ' of drug dealing, with no 'safe places' left, the country's justice minister admitted as he positions himself for a presidential run. Gérald Darmanin said in a recent interview that even the 'smallest rural town' in France is now 'familiar with cocaine and cannabis'. 'Drugs, for example, have always existed, but today we can clearly see that in the smallest rural town, they know about cocaine, cannabis.' 'Beforehand, drugs were simply in big towns [and cities] or the metro,' he told Legend in an interview published on Sunday. 'What really strikes the French is that it has become widespread, metastasized,' he added. 'It's no longer just in the places where we were looking for the potential problem' he added, suggesting France has become 'more violent'. Darmanin voiced support for sweeping security measures to ensure a 'safe society' - a risky curtailing of personal liberties as he looks towards the 2027 presidential election. 'If you want a safe society, you need facial recognition, for example, which we don't have today.' 'It's thanks to AI applied to cameras that we are able to observe crowd movements, that we were able to observe strange behavior,' he added. The former Minister of the Interior said France 'thwarted three attacks during the Olympic Games', arresting an 18-year-old Russian national suspected of planning to commit an 'Islamist-inspired' attack in Saint Etienne. Illustrating his argument, Darmanin added: 'In Dubai, we see your face and we know your identity, what your criminal record is, if you are wanted.' Asked by interviewer Guillaume Pley why France had not adopted such measures, he referenced 'paranoia about technology' and 'civil liberties'. 'Unfortunately, Parliament has always opposed it until now. We must all evolve for the safety of the French,' he added in a post on X on Monday, after the interview aired. Not all agreed. Jean-Philippe Tanguy, deputy of the French National Assembly, jibed: 'Does the Minister of Justice know that he was Minister of the Interior for years?' 'Taking the French for fools by making so-called strong statements when the death toll is so low and catastrophic is still crazy,' he added. Cocaine use in France has nearly doubled in a matter of a few years, according to a recent study. An estimated 1.1 million people took the drug at least once in 2023 - up from 600,000 when the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT) last published its report in 2022. France now ranks 7th in Europe for cocaine consumption. Ivana Obradovic, deputy director at OFDT, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that part of the reason for the increase in drug use was 'the evolution of working conditions'. People were using cocaine to cope with intense workloads or tough working conditions, she said. Perception of drug purity, and the relative stability of price, may have also contributed to the change, she suggested. While prices have remained virtually unchanged, the purity of cocaine is said to be on the rise. Data from the EU's drug monitoring agency EMCDDA showed how a relative price of 100 in 2011 had fallen to 98 by 2021. A benchmark purity of 100 meanwhile climbed to 143 in the same period. The rise of drug gangs has seen violence flare up. Ten people were killed last year in such clashes. As many as 341 were injured, The Times reports. Darmanin, with President Emmanuel Macron's liberal Renaissance party, announced in late April that he would like to be president and was 'working' on a platform. Macron himself will be unable to run in 2027 after serving two consecutive terms. The 2024 election, called by Macron following the European Parliament elections last June, saw growing divisions in the French National Assembly. In the EP elections, Marine Le Pen's National Rally came out as the leading party, with 31.4 per cent of the vote. Rallying against the hard right, the left wing alliance New Popular Front won 188 seats in the legislative elections - short of a majority, but ahead of the 142 won by the National Rally. Ensemble, Macron's centrist coalition, lost, but took 161 seats, which was higher than pollsters predicted. 289 seats were needed for an overall majority in the 577-seat assembly. Separately, in his interview on Sunday, Darmanin apologised for the first time to Liverpool supporters for the policing operation at the 2022 Champions League final in Paris. Darmanin said 'we got the measures wrong' in the interview broadcast on YouTube. The final between Liverpool and Real Madrid at the Stade de France was overshadowed by a 37-minute delay to kick-off as fans struggled to access the entrances after being funnelled into overcrowded bottlenecks as they approached the stadium. Darmanin initially blamed Liverpool fans for the disorder and claimed many had turned up without tickets. Three years on, he admitted in the interview that the authorities had got it wrong. 'Yes, it was a failure,' said Darmanin. 'Because I hadn't checked what was happening properly, which was my mistake, and because I gave in to preconceived ideas. 'I apologise to Liverpool fans. Of course they were right to (feel angry).' Nervy police fired tear gas towards thousands of supporters locked behind metal fences on the perimeter of the stadium. Liverpool fans had to suffer a series of false claims in the aftermath of the chaos. European football's governing body UEFA initially tried to pin the blame on supporters arriving late despite thousands having been held for hours outside the stadium before kick-off. The French authorities then claimed an 'industrial-scale fraud' of fake tickets was the problem. A French Senate enquiry later concluded that poorly-executed security arrangements were the cause of the mayhem. An independent report found UEFA bore 'primary responsibility' for the failures which almost led to the match becoming a 'mass fatality catastrophe'. The report added it was 'remarkable' that no one was killed on the night of the final.
Times
29-04-2025
- Times
Prison guards fear more Islamist attacks by inmates this summer
The prison service is braced for further Islamist-inspired attacks in prisons this summer following the assault on three guards by Hashem Abedi, the Manchester Arena terrorist. A senior source said there is 'real concern' that extremists would seek to exploit the overcrowding crisis in prisons. Abedi, who was jailed for 55 years for helping his brother, Salman Abedi, murder 22 people in a suicide bombing in 2017, threw hot cooking oil at the officers and stabbed them with makeshift weapons at HMP Frankland in Co Durham on April 12. A day later another prisoner was arrested on suspicion of murder after a convicted killer was found dead at HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire, a category A prison. A murder investigation by Cambridgeshire police is expected to
Irish Examiner
29-04-2025
- Irish Examiner
Islamist-inspired attack highlights 'enormous consequences' of extremist websites
In what is the first known Islamist-inspired attack in Ireland, a judge was warned of 'enormous consequences' if violent and extremist websites are allowed to 'spread their poison' to children. Mr Justice Paul McDermott handed down eight years to a 17-year-old boy for the attempted murder of military chaplain, Fr Paul Murphy, at 10.40pm on August 15, 2024. Aged 16 at the time, the boy attacked the priest for 90 seconds with an eight-inch hunting knife that had a serrated blade. Sentencing at the Central Criminal Court, the judge said it could have been a fatality were it not for the intervention of soldiers at Renmore Barracks in Galway. Video footage of the attack showed the boy hanging on to Fr Murphy's car as it rolled through the barrack's gate into the complex, repeatedly raising his hand high and stabbing through the partially open window. He inflicted seven deep wounds across the chaplain's arms, but did not puncture his neck, heart or major arteries. It is the first publicly-known violent attack in Ireland motivated by extremist jihadist propaganda. Judge McDermott said the boy converted to Islam at age 14 but that he appeared to teach himself through 'obsessive engagement' with online extremist sites. 'He was, in effect, radicalised,' the judge said. The boy told gardaí his attack was in protest at the presence of the Irish Defence Forces in Mali, west Africa, and 'all the stuff in Islam'. When gardaí searched the family home they found an ISIS, or Islamic-state, flag, in his bedroom as well as a notebook with sketches of beheadings. They found actual videos of Islamic state beheadings in some of his digital devices. The court had heard the boy would not give the PIN to a phone he had on him at the time of the attack - meaning gardaí could not access it. The judge said this case was not the first involving young people carrying out physical or sexual attacks after viewing violent material online. He said children are 'easy prey' to so-called influencers on social media. He said this also applied to people propagating 'extreme political or religious views'. The judge said these sites have 'open access' to children, to 'spread their poison', adding: There are very real and important childcare protection issues and quite enormous consequences if not addressed effectively, as this case shows. In his victim impact statement given earlier this month, Fr Murphy told the boy that he 'forgave' him and hoped he would become 'a better person'. The chaplain approached the boy after the hearing and put his arm around his shoulder and spoke to him. After Tuesday's appearance, Fr Murphy again approached the boy, held his hand, and placed another hand on his shoulder and had a chat. The boy nodded and spoke some words and, like at the previous sitting, thanked the priest. The boy's father shook Fr Murphy's hand and said: 'Thank you so much.' Earlier, Mr Justice McDermott said the priest, who was wearing civilian clothes at the time of the attack, just happened to be the first person the boy met at the gates that night. He said the CCTV footage of the attack was 'dramatic and shocking' and said the priest was 'savagely attacked'. Mr Justice McDermott said Fr Paul Murphy, who was wearing civilian clothes at the time of the attack, just happened to be the first person the boy met at the gates that night. Picture: Collins Courts The judge said that 'another disturbing element' was how 'persistent' the boy was and that he was 'determined to complete his mission'. The attack continued for 90 seconds over a total distance of 25 metres. The judge said that even the five warning shots fired by soldiers had little effect on the boy, but that he was momentarily distracted, allowing the soldiers to disarm him. The judge said an aggravating factor was that the duties Defence Forces' personnel discharge is 'in service of the State'. He set the headline sentence at 20 years, but said he had to take into account the boy's age and that he had 'significant traits' of autism spectrum disorder, which was undiagnosed at the time. Judge McDermott said the boy had an 'obsessive personality' and was 'socially awkward and isolated'. He reduced the 20-year sentence down to 13 years. In mitigation, he took into account the early plea of guilty, the boy's remorse and his engagement with services. He said the boy had no prior convictions and said he would find imprisonment challenging. This brought his detention down to ten years. Taking into account a desire for rehabilitation the judge suspended two years — for a period of three years from release — bringing his final sentence to eight years. The boy, now almost 17 and a half, will serve the next year in Oberstown Children Detention Centre, then he has to be transferred to an adult prison. Read More Teen jailed for eight years for Islamist-motivated knife attack on Galway army chaplain
Arab News
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Tunisia opposition figures go on trial on state security charges
TUNIS: The trial of several prominent Tunisian opposition figures accused of national security offenses is set to begin Tuesday, with rights groups denouncing the case as politically motivated. The around 40 high-profile defendants include former diplomats, politicians, lawyers and media figures, some of whom have been outspoken critics of President Kais Saied. The charges against them are 'plotting against the state security' and 'belonging to a terrorist group,' which could entail hefty sentences and even capital punishment, according to lawyers. Saied was elected in 2019 after Tunisia emerged as the only democracy following the Arab Spring. But in 2021 he staged a sweeping power grab, and rights groups have since warned of a rollback on freedoms. The defendants include politicians Jawhar Ben Mbarek, Abdelhamid Jelassi and Issam Chebbi, founder of the opposition National Salvation Front coalition — all staunch critics of Saied. In a letter from his cell, Ben Mbarek called the trial a form of 'judicial harassment' aimed at 'the methodical elimination of critical voices,' claiming the accusations were baseless. Activists Khayam Turki and Chaima Issa, businessman Kamel Eltaief, and Bochra BelHajj Hmida, a former member of parliament and human rights activist now living in France, have also been charged in the case. Some of the defendants have been detained since a flurry of arrests in February 2023, after Saied dubbed them 'terrorists.' Others remain free pending trial, as some have fled abroad, according to the defense committee. On Sunday, during a visit to the streets of the capital Tunis, Saied told a woman who asked him to intervene for her imprisoned sons — unrelated to the trial — that he 'never intervenes' in judicial matters. 'Let this be clear to everyone,' he was heard telling her in a video posted on the presidency's official Facebook page. Other critics of Saied have been detained and charged in different cases, including under a law to combat 'false news.' In early February, the leader of Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party Rached Ghannouchi, 83, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for plotting against state security, though in a separate case. The United Nations urged Tunisian authorities last month to bring 'an end to the pattern of arrests, arbitrary detentions and imprisonment of dozens of human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, activists and politicians.' Tunisia's foreign ministry dismissed the UN statement with 'astonishment' and denounced its 'inaccuracies.' 'Tunisia can give lessons to those who think they are in a position to make statements,' it said.
