Switzerland: Four terror suspects arrested in month of June

Event

Swiss police arrested three men for alleged links to jihadist terror groups in the Canton of Vaud on June 23 and 24. The men are suspected of supporting and participating in illegal terror organizations. On June 14, authorities arrested a taxi driver in Geneva on suspicion of recruiting for the Islamic State (IS). Details regarding the suspects’ identities have not been released.

Context

The Swiss Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) declared on Tuesday, May 2, that the threat of terrorism remains high in the country. The FIS expressed particular concern about the risk of attacks by IS members and satellite terrorist organizations, including individual attackers ("lone wolves") or small groups sympathetic to IS ideology.

The FIS is also focusing on countering online radicalization, which can play a major role in the cultivation and development of individual attackers. The FIS claimed to have identified more than 500 propagandist internet users thanks to new powers granted by a 2016 law, which gave the national intelligence services the authority to monitor internet traffic or hack foreign computers to contain the spread of extremism.

Although Switzerland has not been specifically targeted by jihadist groups amid the recent wave of terrorist attacks in the region, the country remains extremely vigilant against such a threat as several terrorists have traveled through its territory before carrying out attacks elsewhere in Europe.

Advice

Individuals in Switzerland are advised to remain vigilant and report any suspicious objects or behavior to the authorities.