Security and Counterterrorism
Racism and far-right bias: Germany’s intelligence and policing institutions under scrutiny
Mesut Özil’s resignation from the Germany national football team after a racist witch-hunt that had blamed him and his Turkish heritage for Germany’s poor showing at the world cup in Russia energised anti-racist activism in Germany. Under the #MeTwo hashtag, countless internet users related their personal experiences of everyday discrimination and racism. Many of the stories shared…
Frenchman Lahcen Gueboudj sentenced to twenty years in prison for joining Islamic State
Judged as belonging to the Islamic State, a 58-year-old Frenchman and a German woman were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Central Criminal Court in Baghdad, a sentence equivalent to 20 years. This length of imprisonment is regularly imposed on Westerners who have joined the jihadist group. During the hearing, 58 year-old Lahcen Gueboudj denied…
Social and economic marginalisation in European cities is a key factor in radicalisation, sociologist Farhad Khosrokhavar warns
In his recent article, the sociologist Farhad Khosrokhavar writes that a significant factor in jihadist radicalisation in Europe is the “jihadogenous urban structure”, a type of city district which produces jihadists at a much higher rate than other districts by shaping “the identity of those who are socially excluded and culturally stigmatised”.
2,000 women and children held in Syrian detention camps for links to ISIS represent another challenge for European governments
More than 2,000 foreign women and children are being held in detention camps in Syria after moving with their husbands to join ISIS. After their husbands are captured or killed, many of their families also find themselves captured and stuck in limbo as their home countries ignore pleas to repatriate them.
Dutch parliament votes in favour of ‘burqa ban’
After more than a decade of pushing for a ban on face-covering clothing, far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders has finally succeeded in making this ban reality. Officially, the ban is directed at more general forms of face-covering clothing such as balaclavas and full face helmets, but popularly the ban is understood as a ban on…