On the evening of the 20. June, a beautiful, Sunny summer day, struck Terror in the UK without warning. The 25-year-old Khairi Saadallah delivery armed with a knife in a Park in the town of Reading, and stabbed, according to the Prosecutor’s office, “random and wild”, three people who had gathered there in a large group.
For Neil Basu, head of the British Anti-terrorist police, the fatal attack is no coincidence. He sees a connection with the Corona-crisis and the strict nightlife restrictions. For the terror experts on extremism as a disease, which is now surfaced in the aftermath of the pandemic – again “” is.
isolation makes it vulnerable to
Basu is with this concern alone. Experts fear that during the lock downs, especially the socially isolated and disadvantaged people without Jobs a lot of time on the Internet have spent – and are easy prey for radical groups or individuals in the network could be.
“The Isolation can exacerbate grievances, the people more susceptible to radicalization,” says Nik Adams, a senior police official for the fight against extremism. The extremists, knew that they could seduce the victims in this Situation easier, “and they often use current issues as a hook to attract them”.
Islamist fundamentalists, for example, social media, in order to establish the Occurrence of the Coronavirus with the wrath of God against the West. They called on their followers to Mature just in times of pandemic suit, because the governments were engaged in public health emergency and less with the safety that was the logic.
the extreme Right do all the work
During the Corona-crisis could be Britain’s Anti-terrorism strategy, ‘Prevent’ is not applied correctly. The program was developed to extremist violence to prevent – with the help of teachers, employees in the health care system, social workers and religious leaders. However, with the sudden closure of schools, government agencies, youth centers and houses of worship, this was possible only with difficulty, personal contacts were lost. In the first month of the lock downs 50 percent of the less vulnerable people were referred to “Prevent”.
most of all groups have used extremists is the COVID-19-crisis in order to spread their messages, experts say. The extreme right threat in the UK grew up before the Corona-pandemic – as well as in other European countries – at an alarming rate. “Especially the extreme Right have done all of the work by the various conspiracy theories and the racist feelings that go along with the Coronavirus, taking advantage of,” says Jessica White, a terrorism expert at think-tank the Royal United Services Institute.
This Form of right-wing Propaganda have adopted according to the findings of authorities on many forms. They range from the assertion that the infection will spread fastest from certain ethnic groups to theories about the Chinese involvement in the emergence of the Virus.
people are trapped in a cycle of work and lack of prospects, are often more susceptible to this kind of disinformation, argue scientists. They fear that a economy could increase the downturn after the end of the pandemic, the radicalisation risk in addition. Because poverty and deprivation, could contribute to radicalisation, says White.
more Vulnerable than ever
Also, in practical terms, the British might be exposed to an increased risk. In recent years, there have been more and more terrorist attacks, in which a vehicle crashed into a group of people. This phenomenon could spread if public life in accordance with the COVID-19-containment measures are increasing in the Free instead, warn scientists.
“It was emphasized that the risk of infection in Free is significantly lower than inside the building, and consequently, people are encouraged to use public spaces more,” says Alasdair Booth of the University of Loughborough. This will likely increase the vulnerability of the population.
to reduce the risk, should the authorities possibilities for the protection of pedestrian zones and other outdoor areas, check the Booth. How about reinforced bollards that are strong enough to stop an oncoming vehicle. But that alone will not help against a growing extremism.
author: Alasdair Lane
*The contribution “Comes after the Coronavirus of Terror to Britain?” published by Deutsche Welle. Contact with the executives here.
Deutsche Welle
