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Man Held in Denmark for ISIS Links

Danish police in Copenhagen. (Reuters)
Danish police in Copenhagen. (Reuters)
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Man Held in Denmark for ISIS Links

Danish police in Copenhagen. (Reuters)
Danish police in Copenhagen. (Reuters)

Denmark jailed on Saturday a man for 25 days for his links to the ISIS terrorist group.

He was held under Denmark's anti-terror laws for allegedly shipping drones, components for unmanned aerial vehicles and infrared cameras that were bound for the terror group in Syria and Iraq.

Police say the 28-year-old man was held on "strong suspicion" of taking part in terrorist activities abroad by purchasing and shipping the equipment via Turkey.

A 29-year-old woman who was arrested with him on Thursday has been released. It is unclear if she remains a suspect.

Police said a 31-year-old man who is believed to be in Turkey was being sought on an international arrest warrant Friday on suspicion he received the shipped items.

The 28-year-old man denies wrongdoing.

A court order bars the suspects' names and nationalities from being made public.

On Thursday, the United Nations Security Council approved the creation of a UN investigative team to collect, preserve and store evidence in Iraq of acts by ISIS that may be war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide.

The 15-member council unanimously adopted a British-drafted resolution, after a year of negotiations with Iraq, that asks Secretary General Antonio Guterres to establish a team “to support domestic efforts” to hold the militants accountable.

British Minister of State for the Middle East Alistair Burt said Britain would provide some $1.3 million to help establish the team.

“There can never be adequate recompense for those who were forced to endure the wanton brutality of (ISIS) and the dead will not be brought back, but this resolution means that the international community is united in our belief that there should, at least, be accountability,” Burt told the council.

Use of the evidence collected by the team in other venues, such as international courts, would “be determined in agreement with the Government of Iraq on a case-by-case basis.” Evidence is for primary use by Iraqi authorities, followed by “competent national-level courts,” according to the resolution.

Thousands of foreigners have fought with ISIS and some are already being prosecuted when they return home.

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Taliban Say It’s Absurd to Accuse Them of Gender Discrimination

Afghan women stitch clothes at a workshop in Kandahar, Afghanistan, 04 September 2024. EPA/QUDRATULLAH RAZWAN
Afghan women stitch clothes at a workshop in Kandahar, Afghanistan, 04 September 2024. EPA/QUDRATULLAH RAZWAN
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Taliban Say It’s Absurd to Accuse Them of Gender Discrimination

Afghan women stitch clothes at a workshop in Kandahar, Afghanistan, 04 September 2024. EPA/QUDRATULLAH RAZWAN
Afghan women stitch clothes at a workshop in Kandahar, Afghanistan, 04 September 2024. EPA/QUDRATULLAH RAZWAN

The Taliban said Thursday it was absurd to accuse them of gender discrimination and other human rights violations, as four countries vow to hold Afghanistan’s rulers accountable under international law for their treatment of women and girls.
Australia, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands are set to start legal proceedings against the Taliban for violating a UN convention on women, to which Afghanistan is a party.
The countries launched the initiative on Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, which is taking place in New York until Monday.
Despite promising more moderate rule after they seized power in 2021, the Taliban have barred women and girls from education beyond sixth grade, many public spaces and most jobs. In August, the Vice and Virtue Ministry issued laws banning women’s bare faces and prohibiting them from raising their voices in public.
More than 20 countries expressed their support Thursday for the proposed legal action against the Taliban.
“We condemn the gross and systematic human rights violations and abuses in Afghanistan, particularly the gender-based discrimination against women and girls," the countries said.
“Afghanistan is responsible under international law for its ongoing gross and systematic violation of numerous obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,” they added.
The countries said they did not politically recognize the Taliban as the legitimate leaders of the Afghan population.
“Afghanistan’s failure to fulfill its human rights treaty obligations is a key obstacle to normalization of relations,” they said.
The Taliban’s deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said human rights were protected in Afghanistan and that nobody faced discrimination.
“Unfortunately, an attempt is being made to spread propaganda against Afghanistan through the mouths of several fugitive (Afghan) women and misrepresent the situation,” he said on social media platform X.
The Taliban reject all criticism of their policies, especially those affecting women and girls, describing it as interference. They maintain that their actions are in line with their own interpretation of Islamic law.
Fereshta Abbasi, an Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch, urged other countries to register their support for the four countries’ legal action and for them to involve Afghan women as the process moved forward.
“The announcement by Germany, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands may mark the beginning of a path to justice for the Taliban’s egregious human rights violations against Afghan women and girls,” said Abbasi.