Czech authorities detain teens over online radicalization by IS

Czech officials person detained 5 teenagers who were described arsenic being radicalized online by the militant Islamic State group

PRAGUE -- Czech authorities person detained 5 teenagers for being radicalized online by the militant Islamic State group and charged 2 of them with terror-related crimes implicit an effort to acceptable occurrence to a synagogue, officials said Wednesday.

Břetislav Brejcha, the manager of the Czech counterterrorism, extremism and cybercrime department, said astir of the suspects are nether 18 years old. They were detained betwixt February and June arsenic a effect of an planetary probe that started past year.

The 5 were promoting hatred contented connected societal media against minorities, LGBTQ+ assemblage and Jews, Brejcha said. During 7 raids successful the Czech Republic and Austria, constabulary seized immoderate weapons, specified arsenic knives, machetes, axes and state pistols.

On Jan. 29, 2024, 2 of the 5 tried to acceptable a synagogue successful the 2nd largest Czech metropolis of Brno connected fire, Brejcha said without offering details.

The pursuing month, Czech media reported an arson effort and said constabulary were looking for witnesses. The reports said 2 suspects placed a firebomb successful beforehand of the synagogue but it did not detonate and nary harm was reported.

The charges against them see hate-related crimes, promotion and enactment of coercion and a panic onslaught attempt.

The suspects were besides progressive successful online groups recruiting fighters for IS militants successful Syria, Brejcha said. The Czech authorities cooperated with their counterparts successful Austria, Britain, Slovakia and with the European Union’s instrumentality enforcement bureau Europol successful this case, helium added.

Michal Koudelka, the caput of the Czech counterintelligence bureau known arsenic BIS, said the 5 shared a fascination with unit and hatred against Jews, LGBTQ+ radical and others.

They were approached online by Islamic State members and became radicalized, Koudelka said.

“We see online radicalization of the younker a precise unsafe trend,” Koudelka said, adding that the suspects had not been successful interaction with the section Muslim community.

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