40% Of Terrorism-Related Offenders To Be Released By 2019 As The U.K. Is Set To Enable Extremism
In a shocking report, The Guardian (of all places) has released an analysis of figures compiled by the U.K.’s Sentencing Council that show more than 80 out of 193 terms issued for terrorism-related offenses between 2007 and 2016 will have run out by the end of this year.
The Guardian also points out that the number of extremists released may be even higher because prisoners are eligible for release halfway through their sentences in the U.K.
Alarmingly, almost a third of the sentences given for the preparation of terrorist acts in 2016 will be spent by the end of the year. In 2019, 23 more sentences will run out.
On the heels of this news, it’s been announced that the threat of militant Islam in Britain is to stay elevated for the next two years – and may potentially rise even further.
Currently, the threat level for an extremist Islamist attack in Britain is assessed as “severe”, which means an attack is highly likely.
Britain’s Home Secretary, Sajid Javid has revealed that security services are to get an extra 2,000 officers to ensure the nation can “fight the terror threat” properly.
Home Secretary Javid also believes:
The biggest threat is from Islamist terrorism – including Al Qa’ida, but particularly from Daesh. But the threat doesn’t only come from Daesh. Extreme right-wing terrorism is also an increasing threat. Daesh and the extreme right wing are more similar than they might like to think…
However, last I checked, “extreme right-wing” terrorists weren’t bombing arenas with children in them, or slaughtering innocent citizens in the name of their God. Javid’s thinking is slanted and doesn’t truly befit the reality the U.K. faces – which is extremely worrying.
The United Kingdom’s new plan to fight terrorism and extremism is set to be unveiled on Monday. Allegedly, the plans include bringing forward legislation to give the government new powers to disrupt terror threats at an earlier stage and to step up pressure on tech companies to remove extremist posts and content.
The U.K.’s revised strategy also includes further developing police and security services data analysis capability, coordinating more closely between intelligence agencies and police, and a closer look at the activity of right-wing groups.
It’s good that they are combating the rise of extremist Islam in the U.K. but to lump the right-wing (which, in reality, is a label that would befall any moderate conservative in Britain) with the blood-thirsty hoard of Islam negatively impacts the original intention.
Furthermore, strengthening the police force and calling for online censorship might not go how any sane person is expecting them to – after U.K. activist Tommy Robinson was jailed for reporting on a Muslim grooming gang that was sexually abusing children, the U.K.’s government doesn’t seem to have the security of the common citizen in mind.
Already, it’s been officially announced that the threat of an attack by an extremist Islamist will remain elevated for the next two years – and likely stretch on for even longer – but that isn’t accounting for the flow of terrorists being released from prison and back out to the streets in 2018 and beyond.
Although U.K. authorities are attempting to combat the dangerous and murderous tide of Islam breaching their country, the prevalent focus on “right-wing extremism” shows they aren’t fully committing themselves to the actual problem and will therefore be unable to face it adequately. It seems for that every step the United Kingdom takes forward, they are still set back several steps, drowning under the frightening and immense weight of hardline Islam pressing down on them.