(Inter)National danger
Terrorists build networks. They think globally. They share their ideas across borders. Abadi* is one of them. This could get dangerous. fedpol’s response: intensive information exchange and cooperation at national and international levels.
In summer 2019, information passed on to Switzerland from foreign security authorities showed that the Islamic State (IS) was recruiting young men in the country. The brains behind these efforts operated online. They were not too far from Switzerland – but not too close either, in Kosovo. Their goal was to set up IS cells in the German-speaking world.
They found a candidate in Abadi*. He travelled to Kosovo to meet with them. When he got back to Switzerland, he started making plans.
On 11 September 2001, the terrorist attacks in New York sent a shockwave around the world. Shortly after, Yasin* became the focus of police attention in Germany. He had been heard loudly defending the attacks at his workplace. Seven years after the attacks, he was convicted to eight years in prison on the charge of recruiting Al-Qaeda fighters in Germany, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Spring 2021. Ever since his trip to Kosovo, Abadi had been thinking about carrying out an attack in Switzerland. He needed advice – ideally from someone experienced in these matters. And so he met with Yasin. It was not a harmless meeting. They met to discuss preparations, attacks and explosions.
fedpol knew about this meeting and immediately alerted the cantonal police and the Federal Crime Office in Germany. The information exchanged with Germany made it clear Yasin was extremely dangerous. His influence made Abadi an even bigger threat. Yasin’s house in Germany was searched and he was issued a ban on entry. He would never be able to come to Switzerland again.
Stop the threat
To safeguard Switzerland’s internal and external security, fedpol can issue entry bans against third-country nationals for the entire Schengen area. As soon as an entry ban is legally valid, it is posted in the Schengen Information System (SIS) and in Switzerland’s computerised police search system RIPOL. People like Yasin who are subject to entry bans are stopped at the Schengen external border and sent back to their country of origin. Entry bans are a preventive tool the police can use to bolster the security of Switzerland and the entire Schengen area. fedpol can also issue entry bans for Switzerland against EU/EFTA citizens.
The meeting between Abadi and Yasin shows that terrorism knows no borders. Jihadists network internationally and share their bloody fantasies with each other online. They pose a threat to Switzerland’s security. And that is why increased cooperation and the exchange of information at national and international levels is so important in the fight against terrorism: it is a matter of life and death.
And what about Abadi? He was arrested. After his arrest, he remained the focus of security authorities. He has since found more like-minded people in the east of Switzerland. One of them is well known to fedpol: Abdullah – or Isaiah, as he now calls himself.
* Names changed for privacy reasons.