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The Ultimate Terrorist Factory
Are French prisons incubating extremism?
Sayare, Scott http://harpers.org/archive/2016/01/the-ultimate-terrorist-factory/
Publisher: Harper's
Date Written: 01/01/2016
Year Published: 2016
Resource Type: Article
Since the passage of the broad anti-terrorism statute in France, authorities claim that it has prevented dozens of terror killings; yet arrests under the controversial statute also assumes guilt before any crime has taken place as well as inferring guilt by mere association. Are French prisons ultimately pushing those who are unjustly jailed into associations with those with extremist views?
Abstract:
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Excerpt:
The law criminalizes "the fact of participating in a grouping formed or an agreement established with a view to the preparation" of one of a number of "acts of terrorism." ("Terrorism" is defined, broadly, in separate articles.) Critically, the text makes no mention of any standard for demonstrating the existence of the "grouping" or "agreement'; regular contact between suspects tends to be evidence enough. There is also no requirement that suspects have ties to any known or officially recognized terror organization. Defense attorneys routinely complain that their clients have been charged with an 'address book" crime: guilt is, quite literally, established by association.
Bruguiere acknowledged that he had not in fact been able to prove, "judicially," the existence of a plot in Beghal's case. (In the press, and in a 2009 book about his counterterrorism work, he has claimed otherwise.) "But we did establish that he was linked to a whole international network of jihadists, in Belgium, in Great Britain, and that he himself participated in plans -- undefined plans, for which the targets were not given — aiming to commit terrorist actions on European soil," Bruguiere said.
Prevention is the goal, and so, by design, the existence of a plot, or rather the existence of the possibility of a future plot, is enough to win convictions. According to Irene Stoller, a former counterterrorism prosecutor, a suspect "is not convicted for an attempt," but for his apparent intent. (An attempted act of terror can carry a life sentence; association de malfaiteurs generally carries a maximum sentence of ten years.) "That's the utility of this infraction," Stoller said. "It really is very, very, very useful."
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