Page 29 - Cyber Terrorism and Extremism as Threat to Critical Infrastructure Protection

DENIS ČALETA, SARA PERKOVIĆ: EXTREMISM AND RADICALIZATION IN THE EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENT – SECURITY CHALLENGES
OF RETURN FOREIGN FIGHTERS

question. According to Article 4, both the perpetrators of terrorist acts and those who have as-
sisted will receive the same punishment. This means that there is no distinction between a taxi
driver working for IS or an IS fighter involved in executions; both face – if convicted – the
same punishment” (Mehra, 2017, p 2).

2.3 Prisons as Places of Re-Recruitment

At the moment the number of prisoners suspected of being part of the Islamic State organiza-
tion is accumulating. Because of this, special attention is being given to the question of how to
lower the danger of stronger radicalization of people who find themselves in the prison system.
History shows us that prisons can be very dangerous in terms of the stronger radicalization
of prisoners. “Studies of past jihadi waves show that veteran fighters can play a crucial role
in perpetuating the jihadi movement from one generation to another, often starting from their
prison cells, where many returnees from Syria and Iraq now serve their sentences” ( Renard
and Coolsaet, 2018, p 3). This means that as in the past, so also today, prisons represent places
where it is easy to radicalize individuals. Even the founder of Islamic State, al-Zarqawi, was
radicalized in prison. An example of a prison in which prisoners were additionally radicalized
is Guantanamo Bay; because of the special brutality to prisoners and behaviour towards them
as soon as they were released from jail, they soon found themselves in one of the terrorist
groups. Weiss and Hassan (2015, p 11) state that “prisons are one of the main ISIS recruiting
centres and organization hubs.” How important prisons are in the process of radicalization
is shown by al Baghdadi itself, in the times before Islamic State, when he was using prisons
to radicalize his supporters. “Prisons are frequently described as “hotbeds“ of radicalization,
because they are places in which (predominantly) young men experience personal crises and
are cut off from traditional social relationships, such as family and friends” (Neumann, 2017,
p 48) “Since the founding of the Islamic State in 2014, several of Europe’s biggest terrorist
attacks were led by former prison inmates, some of whom became radicalized while behind
bars” (Mekhennet and Warricka, 2018, e-source). Prisons are places where new people can
learn about radical ideas, where they can become more extreme, and where they can learn ad-
ditional things about radical ideas and meet new contacts in the world of terrorism.
For all these reasons, special attention should be given to prisons and the possible stronger
radicalization of people who are in prison because they were a member of the Islamic State.
“According to the information of Iraqi government, 17 of the 25 most prominent leaders of
ISIS who were in the war in Iraq and Syria spent some time in prison institutions under the
administration of the US between 2004 and 2011” (Gerges, 2018, p 156). In an article in the
Washington Post entitled “ISIS behind bars”, authors Mekhnnet and Warrick (2018) said that
“within the regular prison populations, officials watch for changes in behaviour that suggest
radicalization is underway, such as when inmates modify their prison uniforms in jihadist
style, or insist on wearing underwear when taking a shower, a reflection of conservative Is-
lamist views about covering the body. In such cases, officials encourage inmates to meet with
moderate imams and counsellors who work with the prisons on a voluntary basis.” As time
goes by and as more and more people receive prison sentences, danger of radicalization even
includes people who up to now have not shown any signs of radicalization. “Some prisoners
may perceive convicted returnees from Syria and Iraq as proven leaders and even heroes; and
an influx of returnee prisoners could create a new platform for ideological radicalization and
recruitment in a prison system unprepared for their admission” (Azinović and Jusić, 2016, p
83). For all of these reasons it is clear that the prison environment should be closely looked
at, and stronger radicalization should be prevented. Prisons could and should be places of a

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