EU to stamp out terrorist cells in prisons
Friday, October 3, 2008
WORRIED their prisons are turning into a breeding ground for terrorists, European officials met Tuesday to unveil French measures to stop recruitment in jails.
French Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said the fight against terrorism was not only being waged in the mountains of Afghanistan or Uzbekistan, but also in prisons across the European Union.
"We must act and be vigilant," the minister said, in an opening address to a two-day conference on terrorists in prisons held in Saint Denis, a suburb north of Paris.
Alliot-Marie announced that a new guidebook would be handed out to prison guards, counsellors, nurses and other staff in the 27-nation European Union to help them detect potential terrorists.
Drafted by French, German and Austrian experts, the manual outlines clues on what to look for, such as inmates who grow beards or show hostility toward the female staff at the prisons, she said.
Home to Europe's biggest Muslim minority, France is particularly alarmed that its prisons are being used as a recruiting ground for extremists who advocate violence.
Alliot-Marie said about 100 inmates out of nearly 64,000 in French jails had been identified as potentially dangerous for "proselytising" their anti-Western message.
Case studies show that young delinquents, many of them serving time for petty crimes, are targeted by hardcores in prisons.
"Young people go to jail, usually after committing acts of delinquency, filled with feelings of violent hostility toward society and its values," said Alliot-Marie.
"This is true in France but it is also true in most of our countries," she told the EU gathering.
One of the most prominent cases was that of Safe Bourrada, a prisoner released in 2003 who built up a terror network from recruits he met while behind bars, according to French justice officials.
Bourrada was arrested in September 2005 on charges of plotting terror attacks on the Paris metro, the capital's Orly airport and the headquarters of the DST intelligence agency.
His Ansar al-Fath group is believed to have ties with al-Qaeda militants in Algeria.
While the minister said militants were finding recruits among the marginalised, she stressed that more "Westerners" were joining as were women.
"We must prevent our prisons from turning into incubators for radicalisation," said Jacques Barrot, the European Commission's vice president for justice, freedom and security.
The new focus on prisons as a new frontline in the struggle against terror came as France's prison population climbed to 63,645 in May.
More than half of all prisoners in France are Muslims, according to Farshad Khosrokhavar, who has written a book on Islam in prisons.
He complained that France was confusing fundamentalists with terrorists and that the government should deploy hundreds of moderate imams in jails to counter the extremist message of the militant terrorists.
There are currently 117 imams working in jails.
"There should be around 600, like the Christian chaplain," he said. "Islam is one of the biggest religions in France," he told AFP.
As president of the European Union, France also wants to step up monitoring of universities and other educational institutions as well as the Internet for signs of radical Islam, the minister added.
AFP
French Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said the fight against terrorism was not only being waged in the mountains of Afghanistan or Uzbekistan, but also in prisons across the European Union.
"We must act and be vigilant," the minister said, in an opening address to a two-day conference on terrorists in prisons held in Saint Denis, a suburb north of Paris.
Alliot-Marie announced that a new guidebook would be handed out to prison guards, counsellors, nurses and other staff in the 27-nation European Union to help them detect potential terrorists.
Drafted by French, German and Austrian experts, the manual outlines clues on what to look for, such as inmates who grow beards or show hostility toward the female staff at the prisons, she said.
Home to Europe's biggest Muslim minority, France is particularly alarmed that its prisons are being used as a recruiting ground for extremists who advocate violence.
Alliot-Marie said about 100 inmates out of nearly 64,000 in French jails had been identified as potentially dangerous for "proselytising" their anti-Western message.
Case studies show that young delinquents, many of them serving time for petty crimes, are targeted by hardcores in prisons.
"Young people go to jail, usually after committing acts of delinquency, filled with feelings of violent hostility toward society and its values," said Alliot-Marie.
"This is true in France but it is also true in most of our countries," she told the EU gathering.
One of the most prominent cases was that of Safe Bourrada, a prisoner released in 2003 who built up a terror network from recruits he met while behind bars, according to French justice officials.
Bourrada was arrested in September 2005 on charges of plotting terror attacks on the Paris metro, the capital's Orly airport and the headquarters of the DST intelligence agency.
His Ansar al-Fath group is believed to have ties with al-Qaeda militants in Algeria.
While the minister said militants were finding recruits among the marginalised, she stressed that more "Westerners" were joining as were women.
"We must prevent our prisons from turning into incubators for radicalisation," said Jacques Barrot, the European Commission's vice president for justice, freedom and security.
The new focus on prisons as a new frontline in the struggle against terror came as France's prison population climbed to 63,645 in May.
More than half of all prisoners in France are Muslims, according to Farshad Khosrokhavar, who has written a book on Islam in prisons.
He complained that France was confusing fundamentalists with terrorists and that the government should deploy hundreds of moderate imams in jails to counter the extremist message of the militant terrorists.
There are currently 117 imams working in jails.
"There should be around 600, like the Christian chaplain," he said. "Islam is one of the biggest religions in France," he told AFP.
As president of the European Union, France also wants to step up monitoring of universities and other educational institutions as well as the Internet for signs of radical Islam, the minister added.
AFP
Business Besides Oil
