Violence and Security

Facebook Encounters Backlash over Content Removal

January 25, 2017

Reuters reports that a group of nongovernmental organizations has criticized the response of Facebook to their concerns that the social media company's policy to remove "hate speech" from its platform has resulted in the deletion of content that merely discusses racism or protests, and has called for Facebook to provide racial discrimination training to its monitors.
Indonesia Detains Possible IS Jihadis Deported from Turkey

January 23, 2017

Indonesian officials arrested a group of 17 individuals deported from Turkey as possible jihadis en route to Islamic State (IS) positions in Syria, reflecting the Indonesian government's concern with growing Islamist radicalism in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country.
IS Land Contraction May Expand Global Jihad

January 23, 2017

The success of the Islamic State (IS) in global jihadi recruitment and mobilization suggests that, despite a contraction in the core caliphate territories in Iraq and Syria, IS is likely to increase its attempted terrorist attacks in Europe, the US, and other regions.
IS Continues Rampage Against Syrian Cultural Site

January 23, 2017

Islamic State (IS) militants have committed further war crimes under international law with the deliberate destruction of yet another portion of the ancient Roman city of Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage site that has been the target of IS rampages throughout their caliphate campaign in Syria.
Al Qaeda Attacks UN Peacekeeping Camp in Mali

January 23, 2017

A high-casualty suicide bomb attack by operatives of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) against a UN peacekeeping camp in Mali, as "punishment" for the African nation's cooperation with France, has signaled the continuing durability of jihadi groups on the continent of Africa.
Pakistan Arrests Islamists Supporting Blasphemy Laws

January 23, 2017

Pakistani police have arrested a large group of demonstrators belonging to an extremist Islamist coalition on charges of planning violence against a memorial service commemorating the assassination of a government minister who had advocated reform of the country's draconian blasphemy laws.
Turkey Uses Arrest to Claim US Terrorist Conspiracy

January 23, 2017

Pro-government news sources in Turkey have begun circulating conspiracy reports that an Islamic State sympathizer recently captured by Turkish authorities after perpetrating a New Year's Day terrorist attack is associated with U.S. "imperial, colonial efforts to weaken Turkey."
German Officials Plan Social Media "Hate Speech" Fines

January 18, 2017

Bloomberg reports that German officials, including the country's Justice Minister Heiko Maas, have begun drafting legislation to fine social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter if they do not respond to complaints about hate speech on their platforms within 24 hours.
UN Chief Addresses OIC Event on Anti-Muslim "Hatred"

January 18, 2017

In his recent address to an event co-organized by the 57-member-state Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Western missions to the UN on "combating anti-Muslim discrimination and hatred," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on countries to combat a rising global tide of "anti-Muslim hate crimes" and all "other forms of bigotry."
UN Officials Blame Prison Conditions for "Extremism"

January 18, 2017

As the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched a manual on managing "violent extremist" prisoners and preventing radicalization in prison, UNODC officials pointed to poor prison conditions as a cause for radicalization and called for prison officials to follow global standards on the treatment of prisoners in dealing with "violent extremists."