On November 9, the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) and the European Policy Centre (EPC) held a webinar and launched their joint publication, Marching home? Why repatriating foreign terrorist fighters is a pan-European priority. The report examines...
The recent ISIS terrorist attack in Vienna was a reminder of the threat posed by the ongoing presence of extremist Islamist networks in Europe. The alleged perpetrator identified as Kujtim Fejzulai—a wannabe foreign terrorist fighter (FTF), who...
"Exit programs would generally work well in Germany, says Sofia Koller from the Counter Extremism Project (CEP). She has been researching how to deal with IS returnees for years. She warns that exit processes do not work linearly. Time and again, life crises could drive former extremists to radical ideology."
Should I Go Or Should I Stay: Foreign Terrorist Fighter Mobilization After The Taliban’s Takeover In Afghanistan
Sofia Koller
Senior Research Analyst, Counter Extremism Project (CEP)
The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) hosted a webinar on Thursday, June 29, 2023, focusing on the reemerging security risks emanating from Afghanistan.
This webinar focused on two of the key regional and international terrorist threats emanating from the situation in Afghanistan. The first is the ongoing threat of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) that currently operate in Afghanistan and the latent threat of new FTF flows to the country. Secondly, the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan and the subsequent swift takeover of power by the Taliban, the traditional protectors of al-Qaeda-Core, sent a strong message to the international terrorist community that victory is possible.
"The reality probably lies somewhere in between, says Sofia Koller, a senior research analyst at the Counter Extremism Project, a non-profit organisation in New York.
'It would be wrong to say they were all naive, but also wrong to say they all knew exactly what they were doing,' she told The National. ...
'In one case in court, a Yazidi woman gave a horrifying account. Then the defendant said something like: I’m sorry I called you a slave girl. But I didn’t really hear her say: I’m sorry about what happened to you and your people and how I contributed to that,' Ms Koller said."
On December 6, 2022, the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) was delighted to invite to this webinar to discuss recent repatriation missions of European nationals, the role of the September 2022 verdict of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), as well as challenges in the prosecution of returnees in their home countries, including in Germany, France, and the Netherlands.
Presentation by Tanya Mehra LL.M Senior Research Fellow and Programme Lead (Rule of Law Responses to Terrorism) at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague.
On December 6, 2022, the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) was delighted to invite to this webinar to discuss recent repatriation missions of European nationals, the role of the September 2022 verdict of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), as well as challenges in the prosecution of returnees in their home countries, including in Germany, France, and the Netherlands.
Presentation by Sofia Koller, Senior Research Analyst, Counter Extremism Project.
New CEP policy paper: "Recent Legal and Political Developments in the Repatriation of European Nationals from Northeastern Syria"
On November 1, 2022, 31-year-old German Zuhal A. and her four children arrived at an airport near Frankfurt, returned from a Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)-managed camp in Northeast Syria. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs...
"About 1,150 individuals left Germany and traveled to the Middle East to join ISIS and other terrorist groups. Germany has conducted various repatriation operations bringing back ISIS-affiliated women and minors though many male fighters remain in Syria and Iraq. According to a recent report published by the Counter Extremism Project, at least 7 women and 22 children remain in the Al-Roj camp, with 2 German women also present in the Al-Howl camp in Northeast Syria.
The Bulan Institute interviewed Ms. Sofia Koller, a Senior Research Analyst at the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) in Germany. She conducted extensive research on the state approaches in EU countries toward former fighters and their family members."
CEP Webinar: Back from Raqqa – The Prosecution of Returnees in Germany and France | Oct. 17, 2022
The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) was delighted to host this webinar, where Sofia Koller, senior research analyst at CEP Germany, presented her policy paper on the prosecution of female returnees in Germany—the first in a series of CEP publications analyzing the prosecution, rehabilitation, and reintegration of returnees in different European countries.
This research paper serves as the starting point of a discussion on the approach to prosecution of returnees in Germany and France, the role of international criminal law, as well as broader challenges of human rights-based processes of risk and needs assessment, rehabilitation, and reintegration of ISIS-affiliated men, women, and minors.
EVENT PROGRAM:
Presenters:
Sofia Koller
Senior Research Analyst, Counter Extremism Project (CEP)
Alexandra Lily Kather
Legal Advisor, The Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA)
Anne-Clémentine Larroque
Historical Analyst, Anti-Terrorist Investigation Unit, Judicial Court of Paris
CEP POLICY PAPER: https://www.counterextremism.com/press/cep-policy-paper-prosecution-german-women-returning-syria-and-iraq
Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.
Fact:
On October 7, 2023, Hamas invaded southern Israel where, in the space of eight hours, hundreds of armed terrorists perpetrated mass crimes of brutality, rape, and torture against men, women and children. In the biggest attack on Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, 1,200 were killed, and 251 were taken hostage into Gaza—where 101 remain. One year on, antisemitic incidents have increased by record numbers.
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