Eye on Extremism - August 21, 2019

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Eye on Extremism
August 21, 2019
RE: info@counterextremism.com

August 21, 2019

The New York Times: As Taliban Talk Peace, ISIS Is Ready To Play The Spoiler In
Afghanistan

“Even as the United States and the Taliban seem close to a deal on an American troop withdrawal, the Islamic State in Afghanistan is making clear that it stands to inherit the role of violent spoiler if any peace agreement is reached. That message was punctuated on Saturday by a suicide bomber who killed 63 wedding celebrants in Kabul, mostly from the country’s Shiite minority, in an attack that the Islamic State attributed to one of its loyalists from Pakistan. It was among the most devastating attacks in Afghanistan claimed by the Islamic State in the five years since it first established a beachhead in the eastern part of the country. The bombing was a painful reminder of the immediate threat posed by the militants: that they can slip through tight security in the capital and cause the kind of carnage that devastates a vulnerable community, while cranking up pressure on a government already on the edge. But the Islamic State also poses a longer-term danger that the United States military and Afghan officials worry about: It has positioned itself to gain in the event of a peace deal with the Taliban.”

Vice: New Paramilitary Training Video Emerges Of Neo-Nazi Terror Group

“Disturbing images showing eight masked men shooting what appears to be a combination of shotguns and assault rifles is the latest propaganda posted by neo-Nazi extremist network The Base, as the group garners the attention of law enforcement in both the US and Canada. Tipped by the Counter-Extremism Project, the footage was posted on a known extremist Telegram channel and shows at least seven masked men holding weapons, then firing them in the same direction. A counterterrorism source told VICE the GIF, which is dated August 18, 2019, has never been seen online until this weekend, around the time it was believed The Base was training near Spokane, Washington State and undertaking a ”hate camp” —a paramilitary-style training camp for militant neo-Nazis. News of the footage comes just one day after an alleged member of the group was outed as a soldier with the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and was under investigation by federal authorities. Master Corporal Patrik Mathews, a member of the CAF Reserves, is accused of participating in the armed neo-Nazi collective and is now being investigated by two police forces, the RCMP and military police. The RCMP's investigation into Mathews led police to search the man’s home, where they seized several firearms.”

Foreign Policy: Kashmir’s Dangerous And Difficult Path Ahead

“On Friday, the U.N. Security Council formally discussed the disputed region of Kashmir for the first time in nearly four decades. Although council members didn’t reach any conclusion—failing to issue even the lowest level of action, a statement to the press—holding the meeting was notable in and of itself. “The voice of the Kashmiri people … has been heard today in the highest diplomatic forum of the world,” Pakistani Ambassador to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi said after the session. Indian U.N. Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin disagreed, calling his country’s Aug. 5 move to revoke certain autonomies in India-administered Kashmir an internal matter: “We don’t need international busybodies,” he said. Permanent Security Council members France, the United States, and Russia favored keeping Kashmir a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan—a stance that New Delhi has long advocated. But China had called for the meeting, and its U.N. ambassador said India had “changed the status quo in Kashmir, causing tensions in the region.” China’s support for Pakistan’s position is no surprise given the close relations between the two countries.”

Egypt Today: Exiled Muslim Brotherhood Member Exposes Discord Within Terrorist Group

“Magdy Shalash, a senior Muslim Brotherhood member living in Turkey, has exposed discord within the internal ring of the international terrorist organization of the Muslim Brotherhood have committed. Shalash posted on his social media account that the internal communication system within the brotherhood is broken and does not reflect the will or demands of the organization’s rows. He also added that the Muslim Brotherhood completely rejects the Egyptian revolution, therefore, all the steps that the brotherhood has taken so far was to fight and reroll this revolution. Shalash further rejected how senior leaders of the brotherhood must be obeyed and that no one has the right to say otherwise. According to Shalash, the Muslim Brotherhood ousts and defames whoever disagrees with its ideology or devious schemes, because all that matters are the personal interests of these leaders. Observers of the political scene see that such remarks reflects how badly the Muslim Brotherhood is cracked as its own members began losing faith in the organization and its leaders. Some recent reports have affirmed the involvement of senior Muslim Brotherhood leaders of embezzling the brotherhood’s money for their personal luxury and interests.”

Bloomberg: Brazil’s Bolsonaro Says He Plans To Label Hezbollah Terrorists

“Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said he intends to designate Hezbollah a terrorist group, a move that would follow on the footsteps of other South American nations.In comments to reporters in Brasilia, Bolsonaro compared Hezbollah to Brazil’s landless workers movement that he has repeatedly called a terrorist group. Despite his rhetoric, the move would require changes to Brazil’s narrow anti-terror legislation, and possibly congressional support. Brazil’s new classification of Hezbollah would be part of Bolsonaro’s efforts to align his government with that of U.S. President Donald Trump. The risk is that doing so could strain relations with Iran, a Hezbollah ally which imports $2.5 billion of Brazilian products per year. A weak domestic economy increases pressure to refrain from any decision that undermines exports. Brazilian officials are already reviewing options to move forward with the designation, which is being discussed at the highest levels of government but doesn’t have across-the-board support, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter. Hezbollah, or the party of God in Arabic, is at the same time an armed group, a political party and a social organization. It sits in the Lebanese cabinet and has considerable geopolitical power.”

United States

New York Post: Al Qaeda Member Fails To Get Conviction Overturned For Subway Bomb Plot

“An Al Qaeda member attempted to get a conviction for plotting to bomb city subways overturned on the grounds that he didn’t like his attorney — himself. Abid Naseer — who is serving a 40-year sentence for taking part in a multi-city bombing plot — cannot use the fact that he unsuccessfully represented himself at trial as an excuse to get his conviction thrown out, a federal appeals court ruled. The wannabe terrorist made a “knowing and intelligent decision” to represent himself in his 2015 trial, a three-judge panel from the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said in a brief ruling issued on Tuesday. “Naseer was repeatedly informed before trial that he could reconsider his decision to waive his right to counsel,” the judges wrote. The failed bomber also claimed that prosecutors should not have submitted documents that detailed the plot that were found in Osama bin Laden’s compound because they did not mention his name specifically. But the court said the documents helped to establish that Naseer was part of a terrorist conspiracy. As part of the foiled plan, Nasser was supposed to arrange an attack on a shopping mall in the UK. Meanwhile, other operatives were to bomb the New York subway system and a newspaper in Denmark, court papers state.”

Syria

CNN: Pompeo Says ISIS Is 'More Powerful' In Some Places But Downplays Overall Threat

“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday acknowledged that there are “places where ISIS is more powerful today than they were three or four years ago,” but sought to downplay the risk posed by the terrorist organization in the wake of a report warning of its resurgence in Syria. ”What we've always said is the caliphate's been gone and there's always risks that there'll be a resurgence, not just from ISIS,” Pompeo said on “CBS This Morning.” “It's complicated,” Pompeo said when asked if ISIS is gaining strength. ”There's certainly places where ISIS is more powerful today than they were three or four years ago. But the caliphate is gone and their capacity to conduct external attacks has been made much more difficult,” he added. “We've taken down significant risk -- not all of it, but a significant amount.” Pompeo's continued de-emphasis of the threat capacity posed by ISIS comes despite the findings of a recent Pentagon inspector general report -- that “despite losing its territorial 'caliphate,' the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) solidified its insurgent capabilities in Iraq and was re-surging in Syria.” The Pentagon made its assessment mere months after President Donald Trump declared the total defeat of the ISIS caliphate.”

Reuters: Islamic State Could Re-Emerge In Syria, Chinese Envoy Warns

“A senior Chinese official said on Tuesday that there was a danger of Islamic State militants re-emerging in Syria and called for progress in the political process between the Damascus government and the opposition to end the war. “There is now a danger of terrorist organizations like ISIS being revived, we see some signs in some of the places,” Chinese Special Envoy Xie Xiaoyan told reporters after talks with U.N. Special Envoy Geir Pedersen in Geneva. “So the fight against terrorism needs to be continued. They need to be finished,” he added. “The international community should pay attention to the early warning.” China has long worried about ethnic Uighurs from China’s far western region of Xinjiang who have traveled clandestinely to Syria and Iraq to fight with Islamist groups there. Islamic State has killed at least one Chinese hostage and militant groups have issued statements threatening to attack China. China has also long urged a diplomatic resolution to Syria’s civil war. Its top diplomat and State Councillor Wang Yi said in June that China will continue to support Syria to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity and fight against terrorism, and will help with Syria’s economic reconstruction efforts.”

Voice Of America: As Fighting Intensifies, Islamist Militants Leave Key Town In Syria's Idlib

“The largest militant group in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib has withdrawn from a key town as Syrian regime troops advanced in the southern part of Idlib, local sources said. The pullout came after days of intense bombardment by Syrian and Russian warplanes targeting rebel positions inside the town of Khan Sheikhoun and nearby villages, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, reported. “The Syrian regime and its allies now are poised to take complete control of the town,” Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory, told VOA. He added that Syrian warplanes targeted about a dozen villages in the vicinity to push back opposition fighters from the town in southern Idlib. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), al-Qaida's Syria affiliate, said in a statement on Tuesday that its fighters have “redeployed” in parts of Khan Sheikhoun “after extreme bombardment” by Syrian regime forces. The militant group, labelled as a terrorist organization by the United States, added that despite its withdrawal, it would continue fighting Syrian troops in the area. Khan Sheikhoun, which has been under militant control since 2014, is located on a major highway that links the Syrian capital, Damascus, to the country's largest city, Aleppo.”

Iran

The Daily Wire: UK Releases Oil Tanker Accused Of Assisting Iranian Terrorist Group

“Two months ago, Britain detained an oil tanker in Gibraltar that was suspected of violating European Union sanctions. The U.S. says the Panamanian-flagged ship, a super oil tanker with around $100 million worth of crude on board, was in fact owned by Iran and aiding the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp, which was officially designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. in April. The ship has now been released and is bound for Greece, or at least that's what Iran claims. The ship was detained after America notified British authorities that the ship was flying under a proxy flag and was in reality owned by Iran and, according to the U.S., involved in “illicit shipments to Syria from Iran by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC),” as reported by CNN. The US government says that the oil, which was designated for delivery at the Syrian port of Baniyas, would be used to aid dictator Bashar al-Assad in his civil war. Such an action would be a direct violation of E.U. sanction. At the behest of the American government, the local Royal Gibraltar Police detained the ship on July 4. Iran claimed this action was an act of modern-day piracy. In retaliation, they attempted a reprisal attack on a British ship in the Gulf, but the Royal Navy was able to intervene and force the Iranians to disengage.”

Afghanistan

The Washington Post: The U.S. Is Nearing A Deal With The Taliban. But Another Major Threat Looms In Afghanistan: The Islamic State.

“The official government line here is that the Islamic State has been defeated. The local branch of the extremist Sunni militia, Afghan officials say, has been corralled into a mountainous area near the Pakistani border by Afghan and U.S. forces and can no longer control populated areas. They say it has been reduced to staging suicide attacks against “soft” targets, like the wedding party bombing here on Saturday that killed 63 people and wounded 190. ”We have eliminated their bases in the east, and they are concentrated in very small areas. They cannot fight our forces face-to-face,” Fawad Aman, a spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, said Tuesday. But local leaders in the border provinces of Nangahar and Konar tell a different story. They say Islamic State forces continue to terrorize villagers in areas under their control, forcibly recruiting boys and banning girls from school. They and U.S. officials say that Taliban and Islamic State forces have continued to fight each other, but that they also fear that some Taliban fighters will join the more ruthless Islamic State forces if Taliban leaders make a deal with U.S. officials. The United States and the Taliban have been holding talks on an initial agreement for months.”

Voice Of America: US Envoy For Afghanistan Heads To Doha For More Talks With Taliban

“The State Department says the U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan is traveling to Doha Tuesday to resume talks with the Taliban on a peace agreement aimed at ending the 18-year conflict in the country. A statement says Zalmay Khalizad will also travel to Kabul to ”consult with the leadership of the Afghan government on the peace process and encourage full preparation for intra-Afghan negotiations.” The Taliban has been in talks with the U.S. on a timetable for the withdrawal of American and NATO forces from Afghanistan. Unless that happens, the insurgent group maintains it will not engage in much-sought intra-Afghan negotiations to discuss a permanent cease-fire and issues related to future political governance. In exchange for a foreign troop withdrawal, the Taliban will be tasked with preventing transnational terrorists from using insurgent-controlled Afghan territory for international terrorism. Taliban and U.S. negotiators in recent days have repeatedly asserted they are ready to sign a deal. The two sides are said to working out the details. Last week, Trump suggested the plan for a U.S. withdrawal is still in the works. “We're having very good discussions (with the Taliban). We will see what happens.”

The National Interest: The Afghan Taliban's War Against ISIS Is Just Beginning

“This week was supposed to have been one of celebration in Afghanistan, as this nation of 32 million people marks the centennial of its independence from British rule. But tragedy struck just two days before anniversary observances. A suicide bomber, allegedly a member of the Islamic State group, detonated a vest loaded with explosives in the middle of a wedding attended by more than 800 people on Saturday. Even in this city plagued by years of violence, the attack in western Kabul was a horrific event, claiming the lives of at least 63 people and injuring hundreds more. As often is the case with terror attacks, the bombing struck fear in citizens across Afghanistan’s capital city. “Ever since suicide bombings started here, I always feared that a wedding would be targeted,” said Parwin Popal, a Kabul resident. “Whenever I would go to weddings, I would think ‘now they’re coming’.” Grief and disbelief were redoubled on Monday, when several bombs went off at restaurants and in public squares throughout the city of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan. That series of Independence Day attacks injured dozens of people, including young children. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings.”

Pakistan

Pakistan Today: Terrorism And Extremism

“There has been a significant uptick in the frequency and intensity of terrorist attacks recently, most notably in Balochistan that has had four attacks in the past four weeks. Last month an attack in North Waziristan claimed the lives of ten soldiers while on the same day an attack in Turbat, Balochistan resulted in the killing of four paramilitary soldiers. The attacks are primarily targeted towards law enforcement agencies that are easy targets as they are the first line of defence against terrorists. It has been a long, weary and bloody war fought over the past ten years to get the menace of terrorism under our control– according to NACTA there were 2,081 fatalities in 2010 due to terror-related attacks; this figure has been reduced to 584 in 2018. The achievements are undeniable but there still remains a lot to be done to eradicate terrorism completely in order to get control of the situation prevalent in the two provinces that have been the most affected– Balochistan and KPK. For that, attention has to be paid to the multifaceted problem of extremism. An inability to effectively and honestly do enough against it has made this an almost systemic issue.”

Lebanon

The National: Hezbollah's Vile Influence Spans The Globe

“There are many positive things that tie together South American countries and Lebanon but one damaging link is Hezbollah. The two might be continents apart and separated by oceans, culture, religion and language but, as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reminded the world during his South American tour last month, the Iranian proxy’s influence extends far beyond Lebanese borders – 12,000 kilometres further, in fact. Mr Pompeo urged Latin American countries to take action against the group and they have rightly heeded his call. Argentina became the first Latin American country to label Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation and now Paraguay has followed suit, with Brazil considering doing so as well. It might surprise some but Hezbollah’s roots run deep in South America, where it finances its illegal activity through drug-smuggling and money laundering networks. Waves of Lebanese migrants, displaced by conflict or seeking economic opportunity, have been settling on the continent since the 1800s, primarily in Brazil, Paraguay and Colombia. In Brazil alone, the Lebanese diaspora outnumbers the total population of Lebanon. That meant ripe pickings for Hezbollah when it began recruiting in the 1980s, followed by Iranian operatives after the 1979 revolution.”

Middle East

Bloomberg: Islamic State, Al-Qaeda Hunker Down To Rebuild In Weaker Nations

“Islamic State has been battered in Iraq and Syria and declared defeated by President Donald Trump. But the terrorist group and its predecessor, al-Qaeda, are finding ample room to rebuild in other places with weak central governments, officials and analysts warn. As an attack Saturday that killed 63 people in Afghanistan underscored, Islamic State affiliates have proven they can carry out deadly strikes, gain support and establish footholds from Sri Lanka to Nigeria. As its leadership goes deeper underground and spends millions of dollars to expand, Western security officials are looking for new ways to disrupt its operations. “The so-called ISIS caliphate has been destroyed, but the ISIS brand lives on around the world,” Nathan Sales, the State Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism, said in a briefing this month. The fight against Islamic State is entering a new phase, and the effort to defeat it globally must be approached with the “same level of urgency and commitment that brought us victory in Syria and Iraq.” Sales’s concern reflects an uncomfortable reality: Islamic State is adapting, undermining security and economic prosperity in more countries as it establishes new bases.”

Egypt

The Washington Post: Egypt Says Its Forces Kill 11 Militants In Sinai Peninsula

“Egypt says its security forces have killed 11 suspected militants in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula, where it has been fighting an insurgency for years. The Interior Ministry issued a statement Tuesday saying it had received information about insurgents hiding at a farm in the city of el-Arish. The statement says that while police forces were hunting the militants, a shootout ensued and the militants were killed. It said they had in their possession seven rifles, two explosive devices and an explosive belt. The statement didn’t say when the raid took place or whether police had casualties. It was not impossible to independently confirm the claims as access to northern Sinai is heavily restricted. Egypt has battled Islamic militants for years in the Sinai Peninsula in an insurgency, where the IS affiliate is based. The insurgency escalated after the military overthrow of an elected but divisive Islamist president in 2013.”

Libya

Al Monitor: How Will Egypt Protect Its Expats In Libya From IS?

“On Aug. 5, Egyptian public prosecutor Nabil Sadek ordered the urgent referral of 11 defendants, including four Libyans, to the National Security Court (NSC). They were accused of spying for members of the Islamic State (IS) in Libya with the aim of committing terrorist crimes against Egyptians in Libya. Sadek said in a statement on Aug. 5 that the investigations conducted by the public prosecutor's office confirmed the defendants abducted and tortured Egyptian expats to obtain a ransom from their relatives for their release. They also committed the crimes of spying and supplying IS with money and information, and human trafficking and migrant smuggling. The same statement pointed out that the prosecution office with the NSC has launched its investigation into the findings of the National Security Agency. According to these findings released Aug. 5, defendant Mohamed Ragab Abdel Wahed Hassan, of Egyptian nationality, was found to have worked with Bedouin groups to smuggle Egyptians through the country’s western border into Libya.”

Nigeria

All Africa: Nigeria: Boko Haram - 37 Aid Workers Killed In 10 Years

“The United Nations has called for protection of aid workers engaged in humanitarian services in the North-east, just as 37 aid personnel were killed in the 10-year Boko Haram insurgency. The Head of UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Nigeria, Mr. Peter Ekayu, made the call in a statement issued in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, yesterday, to mark the 2019 World Humanitarian Day. Ekayu disclosed that the UN celebrated the day to honour aid workers around the world who risked their lives to help, save and improve that of others. He described the aid workers as heroes who were working tirelessly to provide needed assistance to the vulnerable people affected by the crisis in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe. Ekayu noted that women were active in every aspect of humanitarian action including negotiating access to people in need, addressing deadly diseases such as measles and cholera as well as provision of shelter, access to potable water, food, health and education. “Saifura Hussaini Ahmed Khorsa and Hauwa Mohammed Liman; they were midwives with International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), and executed after being held in captivity by non-state armed groups for more than six months.”

Africa

The New York Times: Benin Awakens To The Threat Of Terrorism After Safari Ends In A Nightmare

“As a safari guide in a sprawling wilderness preserve in West Africa, Fiacre Gbédji often seemed no different from the tourists in his care: He gushed at each lion sighting and thrilled at each bushbuck he spotted through the trees. But when Mr. Gbédji and two French tourists he was guiding deep within Pendjari National Park were kidnapped by terrorists, the international response to the men involved was far different. The tourists were rescued 10 days later by the French military. Two French commandos killed during the mission were given solemn services in the heart of Paris. Amid the international attention on the kidnapping, Mr. Gbédji disappeared; if he was mentioned at all, it was mostly just “their guide.” He was shot and killed by the kidnappers, officials said, his remains eaten by animals. But Mr. Gbédji’s name has become a fearful omen in Benin, a small West African country wedged between Togo and Nigeria. It was emerging as a safari destination, and Pendjari, under new leadership, as a jewel of the country. The kidnapping has upended that progress and drawn attention to how the terrorism wracking Burkina Faso and other neighbors could also threaten Benin.”

The Washington Post: Islamist Militants Are Targeting Christians In Burkina Faso: ‘They Are Planting Seeds Of A Religious Conflict’

“One evening in late June, gunmen stormed a village in northern Burkina Faso and ordered people who had been chatting outside to lie down. Then the armed strangers checked everyone’s necks, searching for jewelry. They found four men wearing crucifixes — Christians. They executed them. The murders in Beni, reported by Catholic leadership in the region, followed attacks on churches in the West African nation that have left at least two dozen people dead since February, according to local news reports. It was the second time in as many months that militants singled out worshipers wearing Christian imagery. A spreading Islamist insurgency has transformed Burkina Faso from a peaceful country known for farming, a celebrated film festival and religious tolerance into a hotbed of extremism. The trouble began three years ago with a grim domino effect: Militants trickled in from neighboring Mali, which was wrestling with its own insurgency — and many carried weapons from the 2011 collapse of Libya. Attacks by fighters linked to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda have quadrupled since 2017 in Burkina Faso, according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in Washington. The violence has pushed at least 70,000 people to flee their homes since January, estimates the United Nations.”

France

France 24: Five Held In France For Urging Attacks On G7 Police

“French authorities arrested five people for encouraging attacks on a hotel slated to accommodate police during this weekend's G7 summit, sources said Tuesday, as more than 13,000 members of the security forces prepared to deploy for the event. The arrests occurred early Monday, just days ahead of the summit chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron who will from Saturday host the likes of US President Donald Trump, German leader Angela Merkel and Britain's Boris Johnson in the glitzy southwestern resort town of Biarritz. Speaking to reporters in Biarritz where he inspected security preparations, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said 13,200 police and gendarmes would secure the event. They would be backed by members of the armed forces as well as police deployed on the Spanish side of the border, he added. “The aim is to have maximum security with a minimum of disruption. We will not tolerate any unrest. If it happens, we will respond,” he said. Several of the suspects are young members of radical anti-capitalist groups known as “black blocs” which played a major role in the violent street protests that rocked Paris and other French cities over the last months. The investigation was triggered after a woman living in the area posted a message online pinpointing a hotel where gendarmes policing the summit will stay.”

Germany

Reuters: Germany Takes Back Four Islamic State Children From Syria

“Germany has for the first time allowed children whose parents were suspected members of Islamic State to return to Germany from northern Syria and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said it will push for more such children to come to the country. Like other western countries, Germany faces a tricky decision on how to deal with citizens who went to the Middle East to join groups like Islamic State, which was driven out of its last territorial enclave in March by U.S.-backed forces. Three of the four repatriated German children are orphans, according to German media, but no further details were available. ”We will push for more children to leave Syria,” Maas said on Monday. “These are mostly young children ... they cannot be made responsible for the actions of their parents and we want to do something to help,” he added. Thousands of Islamic State members, including foreigners, women and children, are being held by Kurdish-led authorities in northern Syria. German intelligence officials say more than 1,000 Germans went to fight in Syria and Iraq where Islamic State once controlled swathes of territory in a self-declared caliphate.”

Europe

Radio Free Europe: Court In Siberia Jails Young Man For 'Justifying Terrorism Online'

“A 23-year-old man from the Siberian city of Tomsk has been sentenced to five years in prison for “justifying terrorism” on the Internet. The Investigative Committee said on August 19 that the resident of Tomsk, whose name it did not give, was a supporter of radical Islam and posted under a nickname on the VKontakte Russian social network, voicing support for terrorist acts across Russia. According to the statement, the court also banned the man from using the Internet for two years. Russian news agencies identified the man as Kazakh citizen Ilya Kalinichenko, a hockey player at the local club in Tomsk that is a member of the Siberian Students Ice Hockey League. Kalinichenko's mother told reporters that she will appeal the ruling, saying that her son's posts on the Internet neither supported nor called for terrorism.”