France, Britain Plan Tougher Counterterrorism Measures
Voice of America
Nearly 200 jihadists imprisoned in France are due to be released over the next two years and French security officials are pressing French lawmakers to approve fresh antiterrorist measures to impose enhanced restrictions on those freed and to give police new legal powers to fight terrorism.
British officials, likewise, are fearful of a resurgent jihadist threat and are considering overhauling Britain’s 650-year-old treason law to make it easier to prosecute militants returning from Syria and Iraq. And it is not only returnees from the Levant who are preoccupying European security officials. During the pandemic jihadist assaults have subsided — the consequence, officials think, of society-wide lockdowns and other travel restrictions that have stymied would-be attackers. The lack of crowds and public events have also deprived militants of high-profile targets. But in the meantime there has been increased activity online by radical Islamists, according to security officials.Journalists lay down their equipment as they protest the latest draft revision of the broadcasting law, which they consider a threat to press freedom, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on May 27, 2024. Journalists protest the latest draft revision of the broadcasting law, which they consider a threat to press freedom, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on May 27, 2024.
A Ukrainian serviceman carries a U.S. Stinger air defense missile launcher in a trench on the front line in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, May 28, 2024. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, right, sign bilateral agreements at the Sao Bento Palace, the premier's official residence, in Lisbon, May 28, 2024.