Police:
Islamist Motivation in Canadian Recruitment Center Attack
by Abha Shankar • Mar 15, 2016 at
1:11 pm
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A top police official has alleged an Islamist motivation in Monday's attack on a
military recruitment center in Toronto.
Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders told reporters at a press conference
Tuesday morning that Ayanie Hassan Ali, the 27-year-old accused in the
case, said, "Allah told me to do this. Allah told me to kill
people" during the attack.
Saunders also said Ali was taken to a mental hospital but appeared
"non-responsive" when questioned.
A bulletin issued to members of the Toronto Police
Service following the attack cautioned officers against "potential
sympathizers or lone-actors" and asked them to "maintain
heightened vigilance for suspicious behavior."
U.S. intelligence officials say similar concerns have reached the United
States military, the Investigative Project on Terrorism has learned. For
the past several months, soldiers have been told to remove their uniforms
when they are off base.
Ali, the suspect in Monday's attack, was born in Montreal and moved to
Toronto in 2011. He is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault
and assault with a weapon. News reports said Ali walked into the recruiting office Monday
afternoon and stabbed a master corporal behind the counter. He was
subsequently subdued by other soldiers but managed to stab another soldier
in the ensuing scuffle. Both soldiers suffered non-fatal injuries.
Ali, who is expected to appear in court today, is being investigated for
radical connections both nationally and overseas.
Radical
Islamists "Control" Some Maximum Security Prisons in Britain
by IPT News • Mar 15, 2016 at
11:58 am
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Islamist extremists are intimidating other inmates to convert to Islam
and guards at Britain's most secure jail have "lost control" over
the situation, reports London's Evening Standard.
Lawyer Rubert Pardoe recently told a judge at the Central Criminal Court
of England and Wales that Islamist bullying was so severe that some
prisoners at Thamesmead jail are kept in "lockdown" to protect
them from the Muslim inmates.
"There is a sense that the prison authorities have lost control.
Many defendants in my client's situation are in total lockdown. There's a
degree of fear as to the need to conform to certain religious views in
Belmarsh (prison)," Pardoe said.
Prisoners, including Pardoe's client, reportedly are scared of being
transferred to Belmarsh due to the immense pressure emanating from a rising
number of radical Muslim inmates.
Growing terrorism convictions have led to a significant increase of the
Muslim inmate population at Belmarsh, who now represent more than a quarter
of the total population.
"We have concerns that Islamist extremists are deliberately getting
custodial sentences in order to target vulnerable prisoners. They are often
clever and well educated and can brainwash young people," assistant
general secretary of the Prison Officers Association, Glyn Travis said in
December.
Michael Adebolajo – one of two terrorists who brutally murdered British
soldier Lee Rigby – was reportedly transferred from Belmarsh in 2014 to
prevent him radicalizing other prisoners.
Adelbolajo – a convert to Islam – admitted to helping hack Rigby to death in a ruthless,
daylight attack in London in 2013
"My religion is everything. When I came to Islam I realized that...
real success is not just what you can acquire, but really is if you make it
to paradise, because then you can relax," testified Adelbolajo,
acknowledging that radical Islamic beliefs motivated the attack.
Some lawyers have argued that prison security measures are so drastic
that it can be impossible to meet with their clients. In light of the
situation, senior judges forced Belmarsh officials to establish a video
feed for defense teams in court to communicate with their clients.
These assertions corroborate growing concerns regarding widespread
Islamic radicalization in jails. Justice Secretary Michael Gove has already
ordered an inquiry to evaluate the impact of Islamist inmates on prisoner
radicalization.
A Ministry of Justice official dismissed the concerns as "untrue.
HMP Belmarsh is not in lockdown and continues to operate as normal,"
But challenges posed by imprisoned radical Islamists are "a global
problem," Patrick Dunleavy, former deputy inspector general for the
New York State Department of Corrections and author of The Fertile Soil of Jihad told the Investigative
Project on Terrorism. Jihadists have an "uncanny ability"
to flourish in prisons, he said.
"Until we acknowledge the threat and devise effective counter
measures to address the problem the threat will continue to spread,"
Dunleavy said.
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