Europol: Vast Majority of Terrorist Crimes Motivated by Jihadism
16th June 2023
In its annual report on terrorism, Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, has revealed that radical Islamist terrorism for the third consecutive year remained the top security threat across the bloc in 2022, as the vast majority of individuals arrested for terrorism-related offenses were motivated by a jihadist ideology.
Europol’s Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2023 (TE-SAT), a yearly “situational overview presenting figures and developments within the terrorism landscape in the EU,” was presented in the Hague, Netherlands, on Tuesday, June 14th, and revealed that of the 380 people arrested across all 27 member states last year on suspicion of terror-related offenses, 266 people, or 70% of those arrested, were arrested for jihadist offenses.
The report states that, among the 266 people arrested for jihadist-related terror offenses, the most common charges were membership in terrorist organizations, production or dissemination of propaganda, planning and preparing an attack, and terrorist financing. The number of arrests in this category has risen for the past three consecutive years, with 254 arrests recorded in 2020, 260 in 2021, and 266 in 2022.
Wherever you go,
Whatever you do,
A Muslim waits there
To try to kill you.