Violence and Security

Referendum Spotlights Christians' Double Victimization by IS

August 23, 2017

The impacts of the Islamic State (IS) experience have doubly victimized Iraq's Kurdistan Christians, as their displacement and refugee status caused by IS makes it impossible for them to vote in their home in the approaching Kurdish independence referendum that will affect Christians' status and security in a potentially independent Kurdistan.
Venezuela Considers Prison Terms for "Hate Speech"

August 23, 2017

Fox News reports that, highlighting the dangers posed by the flexible application of "hate speech" policies around the world, the newly established Venezuelan constitutional assembly is considering a measure that would sanction people who express "hate or intolerance" with up to 25 years in prison.
UK Prosecutors Prioritize Online "Hate Attacks"

August 23, 2017

Liam Deacon writes that the UK's Crown Prosecution Service has issued guidelines explaining that it will prosecute people for "hateful abuse," singling out victims on characteristics such as religion, sexual orientation, and transgender identity, on social media services as vigorously as it prosecutes perpetrators for face-to-face "hate attacks."
UN Seeks Help for Women, Children Brutalized by IS

August 22, 2017

The UN is calling on the Iraqi government and international courts to take robust action to support women and children liberated from Islamic State (IS) control, including psychological-medical services for females brutalized by sex slavery, social-educational services to prevent discrimination against children born from rape by IS jihadis, and prompt prosecution of perpetrators.
Imam Used Personal Links to Launch Spanish Terror Attack

August 21, 2017

Investigation into the many perpetrators involved in last week's terror attacks in Spain reveal their shared connection to an Islamic State imam whose careful cultivation of personal contacts among local families of brothers reveals a recruitment pattern of jihadi radicalization in Europe that avoids the standard methods of internet and mosque outreach.
IS Prisons Produce Potential Long-term Disruptive Consequences

August 21, 2017

According to a report from the International Center for the Study of Violence Extremism, the Islamic State's (IS) expansive system of detention, utilizing myriad torture methods, has inflicted widespread psychological and physical trauma that will likely have long-term negative effects on populations within the caliphate territories and in countries of refuge and foreign-fighter return.
Women Have Growing Impact in Extremist Islamist Movements

August 21, 2017

Significant policy and academic research points to the growing impact of women in the globalization of Islamist extremist ideology and violence, as evidenced in the "femininization" of Islamic State perpetrators of jihad in Europe and in the Middle East heartland of the caliphate.
Iraq Looks to UN for Evidence for IS Prosecution

August 18, 2017

The government of Iraq is preparing to submit a resolution to the UN Security Council to provide support for collecting and preserving forensic evidence that can be used to prosecute Islamic State (IS) perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the form of attacks against civilians and the destruction of religious and cultural heritage sites.
Spanish Political Upheaval Played Role in Failure to Prevent IS Attack

August 18, 2017

Evidence suggests that Spanish security officials missed a plan for coordinated Islamist attacks in the country, culminating in yesterday's attack by Islamic State (IS) operatives, because they were preoccupied with potential risks associated with the approaching Catalan independence referendum.
Competing Islamist Militants Target Hamas on Gaza-Egypt Border

August 18, 2017

Signaling the cycle of escalating militancy among competing Islamist groups in the Israeli-Palestinian-Egyptian context, Gazan Salafist Islamists, associated with Islamic State actors who are increasingly active in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, targeted Hamas security guards at the Gaza-Egypt border in a suicide attack.