Michèle ConinsxVice President of Eurojust, National Member for Belgium, Chair Counter-Terrorism TeamSpecial meeting of the counter-terrorism committee with international, regional and subregional organizations20 April 2011, Strasbourg

CRIMINALIZATION & PROSECUTION OF TERRORIST OFFENCES

Framework Decision of 28 November 2008

amending Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA on combating

terrorism National Implementation in the EU- Member

States

Practical applications

MEETINGS AT EUROJUST

•Operational

•Tactical

•Strategic

Terrorism Convictions Monitor

•Regular overview of the terrorism related developments throughout the EU

•Based on: •Open Sources Information available to the CMT

•Methodologies such as individual case studies and comparative analysis

• Information exclusively provided to Eurojust by national authorities by virtue of Council Decision 671/JHA/2005

•General objective: inform and invite the National Members to review and confirm the information

Allows comparison: identify similarities and differences

•Content:

•Terrorism convictions overview in the Member States

•Comparative analysis

•Legal update

• Judicial Analysis on selected cases

•Expected trials

• Already 9 Issues (the last dating of February 2011)

CASE ILLUSTRATIONS

Basic characteristics:

• Islamist Terrorism

• RadicalizationViolent radicalization is the phenomenon of people embracing opinions, views and ideas which could lead to acts of terrorism as defined in Article 1 of the Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA of 13 June 2002 on Combating Terrorism

• Use of Internet•Data mining

•Training

•Material

•Incitement / Propaganda

CASE “Jihadist Terrorism”CASE “Jihadist Terrorism”

•2009: Initiation of international investigation on terrorist organisations

•Two different organisations:• An international jihadist terrorist organisation using an extremist-oriented website

•Planning terrorist attacks in Belgium

•Recruiting candidates

•Collecting money for its purposes

• The other organisation was recruiting jihadist candidates and financing a terrorist organisation

•Aim: to commit attacks with an even bigger impact and more victims than the attacks of 2004 in Madrid

•The investigation was co-ordinated internationally by Eurojust, in co-operation with the national authorities involved

RESULTS

•During investigation: Arrests in Spain, Morocco & Saudi Arabia

•23 November 2010: 10 house searches simultaneously in Belgium, The Netherlands & Germany

• Arrest of 12 suspects

•1 Arrest in Austria

CASE: “Individual CASE: “Individual Radicalization”Radicalization”

SUMMARY OF THE FACTS

• Terrorist suicide attack by a radicalized individual• Ideological and religious radicalization through the

visions of individual video and press releases drawn from the Internet

• Negative personal events

• Symbolic goal: Barracks of army soldiers in Afghanistan

• Individual attack

• No ties with transnational terrorist structures• But the attack recalls the actions carried out by

international terrorist groups of a religious nature

THE USE OF INTERNET

•Manuals for the manufacture of homemade explosives

•Videos on how to make explosives

•Documents and videos with ideological propaganda of radical Islamist Terrorist leaders

•Documents on ideological and religious martyrdom

•Possible targets

•Purchase of chemicals to make bombs

CASE: “Malika El A.”CASE: “Malika El A.”

“I have a weapon. It’s to write. It’s to speak out.

That’s my jihad. You can do many things with words.

Writing is also a bomb.”

SUMMARY OF THE FACTS

• June 2007: Malika El A. was convicted in Switzerland•Guilty of supporting radical Islamist terrorist organisations via internet sites

• Suspended sentence of 6 months

• First time that Switzerland convicted on the grounds of support to an Islamist terrorist organisation

• August 2007: judicial inquiry was initiated in Belgium•Use of the website MINIBAR-SOS as a Jihadist Salafist propaganda tool

•Site was administered from Belgium

• December 2008: Arrest of the suspects

TRIAL

Malika El A. was brought to court with 7 other defendants

CHARGES

• Membership and leadership of a terrorist organisation linked to Al-Qaida

• Recruitment of people in Belgium and France for jihad in Afghanistan

• Financing of terrorism

• Providing means and information to contribute to the committing of terrorist acts

THE SENTENCE

May 2010:

•Malika El A. was convicted of 8 years of imprisonment

+ fine of 50.000 euro

• Other defendants: • 1 suspect was acquitted

• The other 6 defendants received prison sentences between 40 months and 8 years

+ fines between 500 and 5000 euro

December 2010: Confirmation of the penalty in appeal

Michèle ConinsxVice PresidentChair Counter-Terrorism TeamBelgian National Member at EUROJUST

Tel 00 31 70 412 51 20Fax 00 31 70 412 51 21mconinsx@eurojust.europa.eu Maanweg 174NL - 2516 AB The HagueThe Netherlandswww.eurojust.europa.eu