Last year the terror threat analysis unit OCAD added 80 new names to its list of extremists and terrorists. In its annual report that was published earlier today OCAD also writes that last year around 90 people were deleted from its list of persons of interest.
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80 extremists added to terror threat assessment list in 2022
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Individuals are removed from the list if there is a positive evolution in their attitude and behaviour and they display clear evidence of reintegration into society. With more people having been scrapped from the list than were added to it, the list became somewhat shorter last year. At the start of 2023 there were around 700 persons of interest on OCAD’s list.
Of the all extremists and terrorists on the list 87% are jihadists. Meanwhile, just under 10% have ties to right-wing extremism. 2% of those on the list are far-left extremists. The remaining 1% are being followed by OCAD because of, among other things, anti-establishment feelings in response to the coronavirus pandemic or issues related to their political activities abroad.
In its report OCAD writes that there are still many challenges facing the country. OCAD’s director Gert Vercauteren told journalists "This means that we must remain vigilant and continue to cooperate intensively with partner services. I would like to stress that this work is unabating. We should maintain our efforts with regard to sharing information and consultation with other agencies. It is also very important that society becomes more resilient to extremist propaganda. Online radicalisation in particular is still a major challenge."