Containment could fuel radicalization, says Europol

The containment adopted to combat the spread of the Covid-19 could fuel radicalization processes, estimates the Europol agency, underlining the increase in violence from the extreme right and the extreme left last year.

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The economic and social consequences of the pandemic could " fuel the radicalization of individuals regardless of their ideological beliefs ," said Catherine de Bolle, director of the European police agency, in her report " Situation and trends of terrorism " made public. Tuesday. " Activists on the far left as well as the far right and those involved in jihadist terrorism are trying to seize the opportunity created by the pandemic, " she adds.

The official insists that far-right networks, even when they do not commit violent acts, fuel a harmful climate. " Such a climate built on xenophobia, hatred of Jews and Muslims and anti-immigration feelings, could encourage the use of violence by radicalized individuals (...) as we have only seen too many these last months ”. In the space of a year, no less than six attacks (successful, failed or foiled) attributed to the far right have been observed in three countries, compared to only one in 2018.

Among them are the bombing of the synagogue in Halle, Germany, where two people were killed in October 2019. The attack was one of those that allowed the federal authorities to ban three neo-Nazi groups, the last of which this Tuesday. On the other side of the spectrum, the report lists 26 attacks by anarchist and far-left activists, all in Italy, Spain and Greece. But the number of arrests has tripled, mainly linked to protests and clashes with the police in Italy.

The 98-page report also shows a reduction in jihadist attacks, largely due to the efforts of the security forces and international cooperation. Member states documented a total of seven attacks or attempts in 2019 and another 14 foiled. A total of 21, against 24 in 2018 and 33 in 2017. But even if the Islamic State organization like Al-Qaeda have experienced significant difficulties, the networks are emerging locally " without organizational links " with their superior hierarchies, adds the document, which also highlights the importance of self-radicalization on the internet.