INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
An officer sets aside a prisoner belongings at Frankfurt Prison.A few months before his killing rampage, convicted robber and prison inmate
Benjamin Herman had a jailhouse conversion of a sort
A white suburban teen and a nominal Catholic when he was first incarcerated, he emerged in late May as an avowed Islamist who would murder
three people within hours of gaining freedom on a work-release program.Herman fatally stabbed two female police officers during his
hour-long attack in the Belgian city of Liege, and then used one of their pistols to kill a passing motorist
Shouting "Allahu akbar," he seized a hostage and wounded two more officers before being shot dead in a gun battle with police.Afterward, as
the facts about the killings came to light, one biographical detail stood out: Herman, a product of Belgium's French-speaking middle class,
had come under the sway of a group of radical Islamist inmates in prison.In a country that has acted aggressively to put extremists behind
bars as a means of preventing terrorism, the attack stoked fears that Belgium's policy could be having the opposite effect, creating hotbeds
of radicalism and sprouting new generations of would-be terrorists."Never have so many people been arrested on charges related to terrorism,
and never have we seen so many of these guys in prison together," said Thomas Renard, a Belgian terrorism expert and researcher at the
Egmont Royal Institute for International Relations in Brussels
"In bringing them together, we are facilitating their ability to recruit
And that is something that will stay with us for a long time."Across Europe, prisons are the latest battleground in the evolving fight
against Islamist-inspired terrorism
Beginning five years ago, Western countries saw thousands of their citizens migrate to Iraq and Syria to join the Islamic State or other
Since 2016, hundreds have returned, but the mood at home has changed
Traumatized by terrorist attacks and a swelling refugee crisis, European countries since 2016 have taken a hard line on returnees, enacting
tough laws that require criminal charges and incarceration for anyone who traveled to the Middle East or sought to support Islamists groups
Until 2016, many returnees were simply allowed to go home if there was no proof they had been fighters or involved in terrorist acts.Prison
guards interacting inside the Frankfurt Prison, in Frankfurt, Germany on May 23, 2018.Europe has seen fewer deaths from terrorist attacks
since the policies went into effect
But now European officials are grappling with a new problem: how to prevent prisons from becoming training and recruitment centers for
From Belgium and the Netherlands to Germany and France, law enforcement officials are experimenting with markedly different approaches to
the problem, including reeducation programs and the near-total isolation of the most radicalized inmates
The efforts are a race against time, as many of the jailed returnees will regain their freedom in less than two years."They come to the end
of their sentence, and we have no choice but to release them," said a Belgian official who helps supervise the treatment of Islamist inmates
in that country's largest prisons
The official, like several others interviewed, spoke on the condition of anonymity out of concern that former inmates might target
them."Some of them," the official said, "could be human bombs."- - -Ittre Prison, a walled, high-security complex southwest of Brussels, is
one of Belgium's most notorious, one-time home to convicted child molester and murderer Marc Dutroux and a host of organized crime figures
In 2007, it was the site of a spectacular escape by Nordin Benallal, Belgium's "jailbreak king," who used a helicopter crash on the prison's
grounds as a diversion that allowed him to escape.Today, Ittre is known as one of two Belgian prisons with special isolation units for
dealing with the most radical of the country's jailed Islamists
Called DeRadex, the unit is home to men regarded by Belgian officials as particularly dangerous
As of last month, Ittre's DeRadex section held 13.The inmates in the section are allowed to socialize with others within the isolation unit
only during certain hours and under close supervision
Isolation is, in fact, the essential ingredient in Belgium's new approach for dealing with radicalized prisoners: Although they may not be
able to separate inmates from their extremist ideas, prison officials can at least prevent them from contaminating others.Not all of
DeRadex's inhabitants have been convicted on terrorism charges or even have a history of violence
But they are known and feared for their charismatic personalities and ability to draw others to the radical Islamist cause."Every time we
put them with the rest of the detainees, they engage in recruitment activities," said Valerie Lebrun, a 49-year-old Belgian criminologist
They push others to pray and change behavior."The religious room at the Frankfurt Prison, in Frankfurt, Germany on May 23, 2018.During a
recent tour of the facility, the DeRadex prisoners sat in solitary cells or carried blue yoga mats to the exercise yard as makeshift prayer
Some wore their prison pants cuffed above the ankle, in the jihadist style
In several cells, inmates had scratched Islamist graffiti onto walls and cell windows, including the name "Bel Kacem," a reference to Fouad
Belkacem, founder of the extremist organization Sharia4Belgium
Belkacem is serving a 12-year sentence in another Belgium prison
Many of his recruits traveled to Syria and joined the Islamic State.The inmates are allowed to go to the gym and exercise yard, and they
practice their religion as they choose
But most of their time is spent in small cells equipped with a wooden bunk, toilet and sink
The cells include wall brackets for mounting a television, if the inmates want one and can afford to pay a monthly fee.Ittre officials offer
counseling on nonviolence, but they make no effort to change the prisoners' extremist views about religion
While controversial within criminal justice circles, the lack of emphasis on "deradicalization," as the tactic is called, reflects a
deliberate choice, explained Val#233;rie Lebrun, a 49-year-old Belgian criminologist who is the head of Ittre.Within the regular prison
populations, officials watch for changes in behavior that suggest radicalization is underway, such as when inmates modify their prison
uniforms in jihadist style, or insist on wearing underwear when taking a shower, a reflection of conservative Islamist views about covering
In such cases, officials encourage inmates to meet with moderate imams and counselors who work with the prisons on a voluntary basis.But
nonviolence, not deradicalization, remains the primary goal, Lebrun said
The reality is, prisons are ill-equipped to offer religious instruction, she said, and when they try, the efforts don't often work."It's
extremely difficult to change someone's ideas," she said
"However, trying to convince them not to resort to weapons in order to defend their ideas is much more attainable."Some in Belgium argue
that the prison officials simply aren't trying hard enough.Most of the inmates' time at Ittre is spent in small cells equipped with a wooden
The cells include wall brackets for mounting a television, if the inmates want one and can pay a monthly fee."The prisons are trying to
quarantine the virus, but they don't really address the problem," said Ilyas Zarhoni, a Brussels imam who runs community programs that seek
to counter extremist ideology
"We need experts in ideology, experts in psychology
The costs will be high, but it's nothing compared to what we could be dealing with when these people get out."Already, Zarhoni said,
juvenile detainees who spent time in Iraq or Syria are being released to schools and neighborhoods while still loyal to the radical Islamist
Among their peers, they are more likely to be viewed with admiration than with reproach."They're seen as heroes," Zarhoni said
"They've used weapons - how cool is that"- - -A few hours' drive to the southeast, prison officials in the central German state of Hesse are
trying a different approach, a kind of experiment in behavior modification that is playing out in real time.At the JVA Frankfurt prison,
there are no isolation units where extremist inmates are kept together
Instead, all prisoners share the same space, under a regimen of unusually close surveillance and intervention by a cadre of guards newly
trained in spotting signs of radicalization
German officials, blessed with bigger budgets and larger professional staffs compared with their smaller neighbors, are seeking to
neutralize the radicalization threat one inmate at a time, with intense - and occasionally aggressive - management of each individual
case.Poking through one prisoner's duffel bag, the officer set aside a strand of prayer beads and a mat - both regarded as acceptable items
for a practicing Muslim - but then paused to examine a copy of the Quran."Here we have a Quran, which is normally not an issue at all," said
the official, who requested anonymity as a condition of the interview
"However, this is a Lies Stiftung edition, which has been banned and we can therefore not allow it." Lies Stiftung qurans contain commentary
associated with Salafism, a conservative form of Sunni Islam.As the visitors watched, the problematic Quran was removed and replaced with a
plain one.Visitors to the prison in June observed as a manager demonstrated how guards are taught to look for warning signs in inmates'
appearance, behavior and personal belongings.A CD was also confiscated, because, as the official explained, it contained sermons by a cleric
regarded by the prison staff as radical.A green Saudi flag in the prisoner's belongings was seen as a problem
Prison officials worry that nationalist symbols could trigger conflicts
Because of its religious symbolism, a Saudi flag in the possession of a non-Saudi also could suggest ties to the Salafist movement
Followers of the Islamic State adhere to an extreme variation of Salafism."This suggests that the prisoner may have been radicalized," the
"We have to observe him carefully - his contacts, what he reads - and try and get as much information on him as possible."The Hessian
program, called Network for Deradicalization in the Penal System, or NeDiS, seeks to change inmates' thinking
Those who are labeled as radical - whether they are Islamists or members of right-wing extremist groups - find themselves under intensive
They are offered different kinds of counseling or therapy, including meetings with an imam or chaplain while in prison, and outreach
programs after their release."Every radical Islamist convict will be released from the correctional facilities some day," Eva
Kühne-Hörmann, the Hessian minister of justice, said in an interview
"If we do not use the terms of imprisonment to influence this group of persons by taking the corresponding actions for deradicalization, we
run the risk of releasing radical Islamists, who are devoid of any personal perspective, into German society."Inmates can still choose to
either accept or reject the moderate messages they are given, and some Islamist inmates no doubt will leave prison with the same views, or
perhaps with even more extreme ones, officials acknowledged.Among inmates, there is grumbling about the newly intense scrutiny and
skepticism about its effectiveness
One Hesse inmate, an avowed admirer of former al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, said he was harassed by prison officials after leading a
prayer group inside the prison
The inmate, who identified himself by his nom de guerre Abu Shaheed, was convicted of robbery in 2014, a crime he acknowledges was part of a
foiled attempt to obtain money for a move to Syria to join the Islamic State
The inmate was interviewed with permission of prison authorities."My mistake was not asking the officer beforehand," he said about the
"Then an officer arrived and said I should stop
I was almost done, and others said to him that he should wait
But he'd already pressed the alarm buzzer
Beep, beep, beep."Several officers then scuffled with him in a corridor, injuring his shoulder, he said.Abu Shaheed said he opposes violence
and thinks his decision to join the Islamic State was a mistake
But he clings to the same ideology, now infused with anger about what happened to him after the prayer meeting."They put me in the special
lockup, the entire night and the next day," he said
"For what Because I wanted to pray"- - -Will either of the approaches make a difference Across Europe, criminal justice officials
acknowledge that they are seeking to engineer solutions to a problem for which there is scant scientific data, and no guarantees of success
What is known is that previous approaches failed, disastrously
And the scale of the problem in recent years has only gotten worse.Since the founding of the Islamic State in 2014, several of Europe's
biggest terrorist attacks were led by former prison inmates, some of whom became radicalized while behind bars
Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the leader of the deadly attacks on Paris in November 2015, grew up in an immigrant neighborhood in central Brussels and
was jailed multiple times for assault, burglary and receiving stolen goods
In prison, the onetime street hustler and partyer became an acolyte of an older inmate, an Islamist who the prisoners dubbed "Papa Noel"
because of his bushy gray beard
Abaaoud adopted the older man's religious dogma and, after his release from prison, left for Syria to join the terrorists.Months later, some
of Abaaoud's Belgian friends and former prison mates would participate in the March 2016 attack on the Brussels airport, the act that
awakened Belgians to the scale of the country's Islamist problem
It was that event that prompted Belgium to join Germany and other European countries in adopting stricter laws that made it a crime to
travel to Islamic State territory or offer support to Islamist militant groups.Since then, returnees from Iraq and Syria have been
systematically arrested and put behind bars
Thus, while the Islamic State's self-proclaimed caliphate no longer exists, the number of arrests related to "jihadist terrorism" continues
to climb, from 395 in 2014, to 705 last year, according to statics released in June by Europol.But many who are now in prison will be soon
According to last month's Europol report, the average prison sentence in Belgium for inmates convicted of supporting terrorist groups is
five years."We had a problem: Young people were going to the caliphate
And now we have a different problem: They are coming back," said Brahim Laytouss, an Antwerp, Belgium, imam and director of the Islamic
Development and Research Academy, a nonprofit group that seeks to reeducate radicalized inmates
"There are hundreds in our prisons here in Belgium, and probably 150 that could be considered dangerous
And my organization only has the resources to deal with 10 at a time."(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by
TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
