Fedpol rightly imposes measures against convicted IS supporter
Published: Friday, May 10th 2024, 12:21
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A convicted IS supporter has rightly been banned from contact and other measures imposed by Fedpol. This was decided by the Federal Administrative Court. As a result, the man's relationship with a mosque in the canton of Schaffhausen is to be severed.
The man, who comes from Iraq, is not allowed to have any contact with nine people, is not allowed to enter the plot with the mosque he used to attend and is obliged to regularly take part in talks ordered by the police.
The corresponding order was issued by the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) in November on the basis of the Federal Act on Police Measures to Combat Terrorism (PMT), according to a ruling by the Federal Administrative Court published on Friday. The measures were ordered for six months and will end in the middle of the year.
Back to the Islamist scene
The Federal Criminal Court sentenced the Iraqi to 44 months' imprisonment in 2017 following a referral by the Federal Supreme Court. He had planned an attack in Switzerland with compatriots. Since his release, he has lived in the canton of Schaffhausen and made contact with people from the Islamist scene there.
These include people who have been convicted of terrorism-related offenses or against whom criminal proceedings are pending. One of these persons is a Syrian returnee who went to Syria with his sister as a minor and joined the so-called Islamic State (IS) there.
Requested by the canton
The Iraqi lodged an appeal against the Fedpol order and demanded that it be revoked. The Federal Supreme Court has now rejected his request in its entirety. It has come to the conclusion that the measures are proportionate and appropriate. The canton of Schaffhausen had applied for the preventive police measures as part of the PMT.
In its judgment, the court goes into detail about the Iraqi's background, living conditions and environment. He had been a regular visitor to the mosque in question since it opened in 2021. According to Fedpol, a significant number of people in the Iraqi's environment share a violent, Islamist ideology, sympathize with it or accept the spread of the ideology.
Even in the knowledge of the criminal proceedings of his fellow believers, he had not broken off contact with them and their environment. As he had already won people over to the IS cause in the past, there was a risk that he could do so again - especially because his deployment in the war zone gave him a certain status.
The court cannot accept the Iraqi's argument that he only found an apartment and a 30 percent job and was integrated through the religious community. The danger that the complainant would lose his job because of the ban on contact was acceptable in view of the risk to be averted.
The court concedes that it will not be easy for the Iraqi to make acquaintances in a different environment because of his past - even if he has a new name.
The judgment is not yet final and can be appealed to the Federal Supreme Court. (Judgment F-6954/2023 of 17.4.2024)
©Keystone/SDA
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