The Swiss authorities are alarmed. The threat of Islamist terrorism is ‘very present’ in Switzerland. But the challenge is growing with the new generation of ‘tiktok terrorists’, whose surveillance is reaching its limits.
The Director of the Federal Intelligence Service Christian Dussey recently announced: In the current year, there have been around 30 arrests for suspected attack plans in Switzerland and Europe. More than in the entire previous year.
There are currently 47 people on the Federal Intelligence Service’s risk list who could support or promote terrorism, as reported by the Sonntagszeitung newspaper.
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland confirms the worrying development. The number of terrorism cases has ‘increased significantly’ in the last two to three years. It is currently processing ‘around 100 cases’ as well as requests for legal assistance from other countries. The main focus is on extremist movements within Islamism.
‘This shows that the phenomenon of jihadist-motivated terrorism in Switzerland has by no means gone away. It is still very present,’ says a spokesperson.
What is particularly worrying is that the suspected perpetrators are getting ever younger. Terrorism expert Peter R. Neumann speaks of a new phenomenon in the Sonntagszeitung newspaper: ten years ago, young terrorists were the exception rather than the rule.
Neumann calls them ‘tiktok terrorists’. They often start on platforms such as TikTok or Instagram and later end up in closed groups such as Telegram. There they share videos of attacks.
The head of the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS), Mr Dussey, is now calling for more staff to cope with the heightened security situation. In Austria, modern methods are being discussed, such as the monitoring of messenger services like WhatsApp, Telegram or Signal. This is already possible in Switzerland – but only with the authorisation of the Federal Administrative Court.
Terror has returned to Europe. Recently, a man attacked visitors with a knife at a city festival in Solingen, Germany, leaving people dead and injured. In Vienna, Taylor Swift concerts were cancelled due to the threat of terrorism. And Switzerland has not been spared either: the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) reports an ‘increased’ threat situation.
In March, an orthodox Jew was critically injured in Zurich. He was stabbed by a 15-year-old boy who showed solidarity with the Islamic State (IS). Three youths from eastern Switzerland were arrested. They are suspected of supporting IS and planning bomb attacks.
NDB alarmiert: 47 Leute sind auf Schweizer Terror-Risikoliste (nau.ch)