Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
| Follow up to this story of their conviction a month ago. |
[KavkazUzel] A Belgian court has sentenced a Chechen native and his wife to lengthy prison terms for preparing a terrorist attack. Two other defendants were given suspended sentences and another was acquitted. The authorities in Belgium and other European countries are not fighting religious radicals effectively enough.
They pose as politicians, but in reality they are imposing radical ideas on members of the Chechen diaspora. Meanwhile, the courts are handing out excessively lenient sentences to some of them, noted analysts from European countries interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot", in May 2023, the Belgian prosecutor's office announced the arrest of seven supporters of the "Islamic State", suspected of preparing a terrorist attack. Among the suspects are natives of Chechnya. On September 10, it became known that four supporters of ISIS* were convicted in Bruges. The leader of the group, a native of Chechnya, Abubakar S., was sentenced to 15 years, and his wife was sentenced to eight years in prison. Two more members of the group received suspended sentences, including Abubakar S.'s brother.
Belgium has one of the largest Chechen diasporas in Europe, according to an article published on the "Caucasian Knot" entitled "How to go to Europe and obtain refugee status."
BELGIAN COURT REVEALS DETAILS OF CRIMINAL CASE
The defense of Abubakar S., a native of Chechnya, convicted in Belgium for belonging to a terrorist group and preparing a terrorist act, has appealed the verdict, his lawyer, Dens Piteryan, told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. He declined to comment further.
Earlier, the Belgian publication Dhnet.be reported that the defense attorney at the first instance "admitted his client's Islamic radicalization," but disputed that he had attempted to commit a terrorist attack.
A representative of the press service of the Belgian courts, Peter Katthoor, confirmed to the correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot" that the decision of the court of first instance in Bruges regarding Abubakar S. has been appealed by the lawyer. Katthoor refrained from making any other comments, suggesting to study the verdict. He noted that the date of the appeal hearing is still unknown.
A "Caucasian Knot" correspondent studied the first instance court's verdict regarding Abubakar S. and translated it.
The case file mentions five defendants, their names are not given, the defendants are designated by numbers. The last of them, defendant No. 5, is named in the verdict as a supporter of ISIS, but he himself was not convicted of wanting to participate in terrorist attacks or disseminating ISIS propaganda, and was therefore acquitted.
Accused #4 was found guilty of producing and distributing IS propaganda content, although he did not express any intention to participate in the attack. He received a suspended sentence and was also fined €10,000. Accused #3 was sentenced to the same punishment.
The third defendant, according to the case materials, "played an active role in disseminating propaganda and recruiting supporters, exchanging propaganda content with the first defendant."
Another defendant is called a "couch potato," although the investigation has allowed that he could have committed the crime. "By spreading propaganda, inciting supporters (even if this only happens online), convincing people of his ideology, he participates in the activities of this terrorist group, realizing that in this way he contributes to the crimes committed by this group," the verdict says.
The case file shows that Abubakar S. is the main defendant. "A man with Russian citizenship, born in 1998," the verdict says. The case file also states that defendant No. 2 is his wife. "A woman with Russian citizenship, born in 1989, they entered into a "religious marriage," the verdict says. She claimed that she planned to apply for political asylum in Belgium, but had not done so at the time of her arrest. The doctor who examined her diagnosed her with post-traumatic stress disorder, but ruled out a mental disorder, as he had with her husband.
The verdict does not say that it concerns ethnic Chechens, but this is clear from its content. Thus, Abubakar S. "in a wiretapped conversation with his wife on April 2, 2023, expressed concerns that when he commits an attack, it will have negative consequences for the entire Chechen community." Therefore, Abubakar S. intended to cut off all contacts with the Chechen diaspora two to three months before the attack, the verdict says.
A better solution would have been to not fucking do it.
In addition, Abubakar S. and his wife discussed in intercepted conversations "the Chechen emirs who took the oath [to ISIS] and went to Syria. "They also planned to send their children back to their homeland in Chechnya using forged documents, but they failed to implement this," the document says.
Abubakar S. was found to be particularly dangerous to society and subject to long-term isolation. The court in Bruges took into account his previous convictions. "His criminal record includes three criminal cases, two of which are related to theft. He spent a year in prison," the verdict states.
The document also states, citing data from the Belgian intelligence services, that defendant No. 1 (his initials are ASM. A Belgian court press officer also named him Abubakar S.) "attempted to enter ISIS territory in 2017-2018."
Investigators established surveillance and monitored social media pages and, based on the investigation, established through wiretapping of telephones that the first and second defendants had sworn allegiance to ISIS* and that there had been various alarming conversations between the first and second defendants related to ISIS, the verdict states.
The case used the findings of an Islamic scholar. In particular, he examined the question of what the oath of allegiance to the caliph means and came to the conclusion that it was specifically about ISIS, as well as the specific intention of the married couple to commit a terrorist attack in order to be recognized as "soldiers of the caliph." During the investigation, Abubakar S. admitted that if an ISIS* terrorist attack had been committed, he would have taken responsibility. The second convicted person, Abubakar S.'s wife, initially denied knowing about her husband's plans, but phone monitoring data and video recordings confirm that both swore an oath to ISIS*. The oath was taken remotely via video.
On September 21, 2023, the doctor involved in the trial concluded that the first defendant did not suffer from a mental disorder. During the second examination, he showed a tendency towards sadism. He is confident in his rightness, especially in his negative attitude towards the West, against which, in his opinion, violence is justified. The defendant openly states his geopolitical views and position, which is a positive moment, but he does not allow doubts about his rightness and does not show empathy, the doctor noted.
According to the case file, in one of the Telegram channels, the first defendant stated that he planned to carry out two attacks in the same city. They also discussed killing several soldiers to replenish their arsenal of weapons. It was decided not to carry out an attack in Brussels, since the first defendant did not know the city well and there had already been terrorist attacks there. The first defendant also asked the group how many weapons they would receive, and they discussed grenades that they were going to throw at the attack sites, in particular, at a nightclub, which would have led to numerous victims, the verdict states.
The document also mentions chat messages in which there are talks about attacks using explosives. On April 1, 2023, the first and second defendants discussed a place where they could commit jihad. The attack on Brussels airport was discussed.
The main evidence for the prosecution was the circumstances of the preparation of the weapons. According to the investigation, defendant No. 1 rented a garage in which he intended to store weapons. He also carefully planned the attack. During a conversation with an undercover officer, he immediately announced the search for a weapon with which it would be possible to hit the largest number of victims. During subsequent conversations, Abubakar S. informed the security officer of his intention to commit two terrorist attacks in Antwerp by a group of five people. When the police came to the conclusion that real preparations for a terrorist attack were underway, arrests were made on May 4, the day the weapons were handed over.
Analysts point out to Belgian authorities that the fight against radicals is insufficient
The husband and wife, who were convicted of preparing a terrorist attack, have lived in Belgium for a long time, noted Belgian resident and refugee from Chechnya Fatima Margieva, who represents the Swiss NGO "Woman for Peace in the World".
"I've been living in Belgium for 16 years, and this has never happened before. The court gave suspended sentences and released people - how is that possible if there were such serious charges? The "leader's brother" got off with a suspended sentence and a fine. How could they even get into a NATO building in the center of Europe to carry out a terrorist attack there?" she told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
She called for not using the cliche of "radicalizing Chechen youth". "If we talk about youth, that they are being radicalized, that they are being drawn into all this, then this is not true. <…> We all meet with young people, try to explain to them, so such accusations cannot be made indiscriminately. I know that now the majority of young people are interested in education, integration, sports, and learning languages. Many people from the Chechen diaspora participated in the recent Paris Olympics. In the teams of Austria, Germany, Albania, and Denmark. It is a shame that the media pay attention to the ethnic origin of people only when it comes to terrorists," Margieva said.
One of the members of the Chechen diaspora in Europe harshly criticized those convicted of preparing a terrorist attack. "If they detained someone for such a crime, they were right to give them a sentence. They didn't give them enough. You can't break the law, especially under such articles. They gave a person shelter, a roof over their head, the opportunity to earn money and study, and in response such meanness on their part is a very serious crime," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on condition of anonymity.
Statements by Chechen authorities may influence the radicalization of young people abroad. In addition, flirting with radical Islam by Chechen elders in exile is unacceptable, said Ibrahim Nikarho, an activist of the Chechen Democratic Party living in Austria.
"Belgium did a good job in preventing this terrorist attack. But overall, I think that both Belgium and other European countries are fighting the consequences. Once people are recruited, and once a person openly begins preparing a terrorist attack, some actions begin. But the authorities are still missing the process of turning a person into a terrorist," Nikarho told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
In France, Great Britain and Belgium there are Islamist groups who call themselves politicians but advocate the establishment of Sharia, he continued. "Unfortunately, the United Force and the government of the CRI do not clearly condemn all these political Islamist efforts... the elders, instead of clearly condemning this, are actually sending them a signal: "We are politicians, you can hide behind us." Of course, this can influence young minds, who can perceive this as approval. After the fall of the Emirate* and ISIS*, sobering up has begun to occur in the Chechen émigré community," the analyst noted.
However, then activists appeared who first gained popularity on the theme "Kadyrov is bad", and then began to talk about the need for Sharia, Nikarho noted. He stated that such ideas destroy the Chechen diaspora, and therefore they must be fought. "95% become radicalized in Russian, which they can read, on the Internet. Maybe 5% listen to Chechen and Dagestani mullahs," the analyst said.
The official authorities of Chechnya also influence the mood among Chechen emigrants, he continued. "Previously, Islam was not put on display in Chechnya. Weddings, funerals, and other important events in personal life were held according to Islamic rites, and that was it. But since the introduction of radical Islam, Sufi Islam, traditional for Chechnya, has also entered the competition on the topic of "who is the best Muslim here," Ibrahim Nikarho pointed out.
French journalist, former hostage of ISIS, author of books on radical ideas Nicolas Henin said that the number of ethnic Chechens in radical circles has been increasing since 2019. "But they were there before, in particular in the Alsace-Lorraine-Champagne-Ardennes region.
French-Algerian Islamic scholar, journalist and writer Mohammed Sifaoui noted that many ethnic Chechens do not integrate into society because of the language barrier. After ISIS was defeated in Syria and Iraq, the terrorists changed tactics and targeted, in particular, the recruitment of young people already living in Europe, as well as the Caucasus. And so they were able to recruit new members, in particular, from the Chechen diaspora, he noted.
"The Muslim community is not homogeneous in Europe. Moderate Muslims, non-practicing Muslims, Muslims of different movements - everyone, except those who support the radicals, trusts European institutions, European civil society and the sentences handed down accordingly. Therefore, this sentence will only cause indignation among those whose opinions have been formed in advance and who cannot be persuaded by anything," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
Sifaoui believes that the EU countries' fight against terrorism is effective, but noted that its causes are not being eliminated. "Schools and mosques that openly call for hatred of the West have not been closed. Because there is democracy here, and one can express one's opinion up to a certain point. Where this line between opinion and violence lies is a question that has not yet been resolved," the analyst said.
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