It is the absolute worst in a whole series of cases since the beginning of the year: younger and younger people are apparently becoming more responsive to Islamist propaganda, as the Swiss security authorities have emphasised on several occasions.
The juvenile court in Sion has now confirmed research by Swiss public broadcasters SRF and RTS, according to which the police intervened with an 11-year-old boy at the beginning of June. The boy was questioned by the cantonal police in connection with the publication of ‘racist and discriminatory content on social media’, according to the juvenile court.
The 11-year-old admitted that he had been in contact with people abroad who were presumably close to extremist movements. The juvenile court did not specify which movements were meant. However, according to information from RTS and SRF, the authorities assume a clear Islamist-jihadist context.
In the cases of Islamist radicalised youths that have been made public in Switzerland since January 2024, the youngest person was 14 years old.
The Valais authorities have opened proceedings under juvenile criminal law against the 11-year-old, whose citizenship they have not disclosed. The presumption of innocence applies. The teenager is at large and socio-educational measures have apparently been initiated. The extent to which the young person has been radicalised appears to be an open question for the Valais authorities. This is not yet apparent. According to the juvenile court, further investigations are underway.
It is possible that the 11-year-old very quickly came into contact with radical Islamist content on social media, which is how the links to extremists abroad were established and the youngster then spread this content. Recently, experts have repeatedly heard of such cases.
Conspicuous behaviour with extremist content, such as swastika graffiti in school buildings or Islamist slogans on the playground, occur time and again, according to experts. There are dozens of cases involving young people – mostly aged 14 and older – which are then often investigated. In the Valais case, too, the question arises as to why the boy made these posts and whether there is a risk that he could commit acts of violence. This may require forensic expertises.
It seems clear that the authorities became aware of the 11-year-old boy’s posts and decided to intervene. This is probably also against the background of a recent increase in the threat of terrorism, which, according to the authorities, is characterised by jihadist propaganda, such as that of an ‘Islamic State’ (IS).
The fact that very young people are also responding to this propaganda, disseminating the content, in some cases planning attacks or even taking action, has already been shown several times across Europe.
Elfjähriger im Wallis unter Terrorismusverdacht wegen Propaganda – News – SRF
