Counter-terrorism as seen by the political leadership: what is good and what can be improved

Political analysis of today's fight against terrorism

Spain has suffered from terrorism, at intermittent intervals, for more than five decades. From the Grapo and the FRAP to the most bloodthirsty terrorist group, ETA, which murdered 854 people from its first assassination in 1968 until 2010. Jihadist terrorism has also made its mark in our country; in 1985 with the attack on the El Descanso restaurant, which left 18 people dead; on 11 March 2004, when ten bombs exploded almost simultaneously at various points on the Madrid Cercanías network, leaving 192 dead; and on 17 August 2017, when a mass shooting took place on Las Ramblas in Barcelona, killing 16 people. New technologies, the COVID-19 pandemic and the dangerous advance of new forms of terrorism make it essential to have efficient measures to combat this phenomenon, and, to this end, it is necessary to know the intentions of the political parties in terms of security measures and prevention of radicalisation.

Spain has always acted as a catalyst of time in all the attacks it has suffered; time seemed to stand still for a few moments only to continue with the scurrying of ambulances and police officers postponing the questions and the whys and wherefores of those disasters. The whole country has been shaken by an overwhelming terror. And now, are we still exposed to that terror?

The mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal once said that it is easier to bear death without thinking about it, than to bear the thought of death; and he was partly right. It is important not to stop living our customs, it is imperative not to surrender to the sword of terrorism or to bow to those who call themselves soldiers without any knowledge of what it means to be one. But this must not lead to a systematic oblivion of the danger; the threat still exists, and we must work to stop it.

This is why different spokespersons of the main parliamentary groups in the Home Affairs Committee have set out their views on the measures they would impose to prevent violent radicalisation and combat terrorism.

*Before we begin, it is necessary to clarify one point. After several attempts to contact the parliamentary group of Unidas Podemos, it has been impossible to conduct interviews, either by telephone or in person, as no reply has been received from the party. Therefore, the main ideas on the fight against terrorism* have been extracted from its electoral programme.

To serve as the main focus and guiding thread of this analysis, Spain's current legislation on terrorism will be mentioned below. To begin with, Organic Law 1/2015 of 30 March, states that it will be considered a terrorist crime "the commission of any serious crime against life or physical integrity, freedom, moral integrity, sexual freedom and indemnity, heritage, natural resources or the environment, public health, of catastrophic risk, fire, against the Crown, attack and possession, trafficking and deposit of weapons, ammunition or explosives, provided for in this Code, and the seizure of aircraft, ships or other means of public transport or goods, when carried out for any of the following purposes:

1. To subvert the constitutional order, or to suppress or seriously destabilise the functioning of the political institutions or the economic or social structures of the State, or to force the public authorities to carry out an act or to abstain from doing so.
2.  seriously disturbing the public peace.
3.  seriously destabilising the functioning of an international organisation.
4.  to provoke a state of terror among the population or a part of it.

In addition, in 2015, revisable permanent imprisonment was approved, which consists of a custodial sentence with a possible review of the sentence when a relevant part of the sentence has been served. According to the Penal Code, it is applicable to particularly serious crimes such as crimes against humanity, assassination of a head of state, terrorist murder, murder of a person under 16 years of age or murder after committing a crime against sexual freedom.

This last rule has been criticised by political parties such as Unidas Podemos, the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), the Catalan European Democratic Party (PdeCat) and EH Bildu.

With regard to violent radicalisation, Spain has a National Strategic Plan whose objective is the early detection of violent radicalisation. To this end, the Plan establishes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the coordinator, and the State Security Forces and Corps as the main actors. It also gives relevance to the General Secretariat of Penitentiary Institutions, so that it can draw up reports on the situation of violent radicalisation in prisons.

In the area of the fight against terrorism and violent radicalisation, the major parliamentary groups, with the exception of Unidas Podemos, have participated in this analysis through interviews in which they have discussed the current legislation, what should be changed and what proposals each party has.

From the PSOE, through its spokesperson in the Interior Committee, David Serrada, the general assessment of the current Spanish Government's measures on security and prevention of terrorism is correct. Importance is given to the prevention of violent radicalisation in prisons, as well as to the investigation carried out by the State Security Forces and Corps.  On the stipulation of custodial sentences for terrorism-related crimes, the Socialist Parliamentary Group states that while awaiting the Constitutional Court's ruling on revisable permanent imprisonment, the intention is to continue with what is contained in the Penal Code.

What is the PSOE's assessment of the Spanish Government's current security measures plan?

The Socialist Parliamentary Group's assessment is positive, because the current Spanish Government has implemented policies that we have been demanding since our time in opposition, fundamentally in terms of preventive policies and radicalisation processes. On the stipulation of custodial sentences, the PSOE agrees with the permanent revisable prison for terrorism cases.

In the area of preventing violent radicalisation, what are the party's proposals?

In this area, three important pillars have been established with specific plans. The first would be the specific protocols in penitentiary policy that have been in place since 2018, but which needed to be updated and are going to be put into practice for the remainder of the year 2021. The second would be the work that the Security Forces and Corps have been carrying out in their investigation and prevention work, which is also included in the National Counter-Terrorism Strategy of collaboration or establishing channels of collaboration with both local police and private security.

And the third pillar of this preventive strategy, which is fundamental, is civil society associations and organisations. And in this sense, it is important that those groups that are in direct contact on a day-to-day basis, living with citizens, can have their own mechanisms and be aware of the protocols that exist and that are available to these associations so that they can pass on information to the Security Forces and Corps.

What changes or new measures would you include in the area of the fight against terrorism, in terms of security and prevention?

The measures stipulated now fundamentally have to do with how threats are detected and how they are dealt with at security level four, as we are at present. And here the work of the Centre for Intelligence against Terrorism and Organised Crime (CITCO) is fundamental.

This body receives information on these threats, and distributes and manages it through the different security forces, both the National Police and the Civil Guard, as well as the regional police forces.

There is something important that has happened during this period of pandemic, and that is that during the quarantine this work has not stopped. Many other things have been stopped in this country as a result of COVID-19, but the fight against terrorism has not. In fact, there have been major operations against jihadist terrorism in the middle of the period of confinement, so the conclusion is that if terrorism does not stop, the government does not stop pursuing these criminals either.

Do you think that the current legislation's stipulation of prison sentences for terrorism-related crimes is correct, or would you propose changes?

While waiting for the Constitutional Court to rule on revisable permanent imprisonment, the intention is to continue with what is in the Penal Code. What we are doing, from the PSOE and from the Spanish government, is to follow the joint framework being established by the European Union.

Spain is one of the most advanced countries in terms of penitentiary policy, anti-terrorist policy and anti-terrorist legislation, but this also gives us an idea of the level of protection and legal guarantees that we have in Spain.

The Popular Parliamentary Group, through Teresa Jiménez-Becerril, member of the Home Affairs Committee of the Congress of Deputies, although they see the adaptation of security and prevention measures to the European environment as correct, there are certain actions that they do not see as correct and they consider unworthy, for example, the corridors that are made for ETA members or the fact that the national government has made an agreement with a party that does not condemn terrorism (referring to Bildu). They see education as an important channel to prevent violent radicalisation, and the PP agrees with the idea of permanent revisable prison for this type of crime, as they consider that it provides security for victims.

What is the PP's assessment of the Spanish government's current plan for security measures?

I think there is a great deal of unity in the fight against terrorism, starting with the Anti-Terrorism Pact. Most of the measures to fight terrorism are focused at the European level because it is a global threat, and therefore the response has to be global.

However, there are some differences between our country and Europe on this issue, for example, in the response to victims. There is a confrontation with the victims of terrorism, many of them victims of ETA, due to the way in which the government has approached the terrorists, as well as the pact with a party that does not condemn terrorism.

Nor did we in the PP take a positive view of the fact that the president put his former first vice-president, Pablo Iglesias, in the CNI, as we considered that he was neither prepared nor the right person to be there, and we therefore consider that this was a very harmful political use, which did not respond to professional criteria of any kind.

In terms of preventing violent radicalisation, what are the party's proposals?

The Popular Party believes that the most important thing is prevention and the response to victims. We are working to ensure that this prevention is carried out at all educational levels, in addition to programmes in prisons to prevent violent radicalisation, as this is where there is the greatest potential for radicalisation.

It is also important to differentiate between immigration and terrorism; they have nothing to do with each other. But neither should we be naïve, as terrorists seek and will seek any channel to enter the countries they intend to attack, and one of these channels is immigration. We believe that border control is very important, mainly because Spain is located very close to immigration hotspots.

We consider the cooperation of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) to be necessary, as it is vital to monitor the issue of returnees who return after having fought in the ranks of terrorist organisations.

Unfortunately what happens with terrorism is that when there are attacks, the alert levels go up a lot and a lot of measures are taken immediately, but when the emotional wave of a terrorist attack disperses, we are back to not being vigilant.

What changes or new measures would you include in the area of counter-terrorism, in terms of security and prevention?

In terms of prevention, the strategy must be to prevent, protect, pursue, prosecute and respond to victims. All European guidelines must be followed; we cannot be divided because it would be very harmful to society.

Do you agree with the current legislation's stipulation of prison sentences for terrorism-related crimes or would you propose changes?

The Popular Group agrees with the permanent revisable prison, which, contrary to popular belief, is not a life sentence; it is revisable. We believe that the years set by the judges must be served in full, in order to provide security for the victims, as well as to provide justice.

The dignity of those affected must be protected. For example, the terrorist de Juana Chaos wrote letters from prison saying that our tears were his smile; this cannot be allowed either. Anyone could have been a victim and it is the state that must seek justice.

Finally, there are actions that should not be repeated, such as when they make corridors for ETA members. I can't imagine any political leader in any country making passes at terrorists. Why should we put up with these people being used as bargaining chips for political issues?

Miguel Gutiérrez, spokesman for the Interior Committee of the Citizens' Parliamentary Group, calls on the Government to provide better resources for the Security Forces and Corps, as they are the ones who are on the front line in preventing attacks. They propose several measures, such as the creation of a Terrorism Observatory to study the phenomenon of violent radicalisation. Regarding penalties for crimes related to terrorism, Ciudadanos supports permanent revisable prison.

What is Ciudadanos' assessment of the Spanish government's current plan for security measures?

Spain is a model country in terms of security measures, but there is still room for improvement. It is insufficient; we need to study the phenomena that push people to become radicalised and commit attacks.

In terms of preventing violent radicalisation, what are the party's proposals?

I believe that Spain, in fact, is an example because there has been no greater violent radicalisation than that of ETA terrorism. And ETA was fought with the law, and also thanks to society, of course, but above all with the law.

Today we also face other phenomena of violent radicalisation, such as jihadist terrorism, but also other low-intensity terrorism. To find out how to tackle this problem, Ciudadanos believes we need a permanent observatory where, based on experts who are called in, there is a permanent study on why this violent radicalisation occurs. There are two basic lines of theory as to why it happens, some say that there are processes that a person goes through as they become radicalised little by little until they end up committing an attack; others say that whoever is violent is violent, they do not need any process to become violent and therefore, the approach to prevention is different, which is why it is important to study the phenomenon.

Education is also vital, from the beginning, to avoid not only violent radicalism but also ideas such as the link between the Muslim religion and terrorism. It often confuses people.

What changes or new measures would you include in the area of counter-terrorism, at the level of security and prevention?

In addition to the Observatory I mentioned earlier, we need to support our Security Forces and Corps, provide them with more and better resources, which is a government option that we continually call for. At the end of the day, they are the ones who are preventing an attack from taking place.

Do you think that the current legislation stipulating prison sentences for terrorism-related crimes is correct, or would you propose changes?

Permanent revisable imprisonment seems to us to be correct when it is applied for crimes with a special singularity that involve serious harm to society. The purpose of the sanctions is to work on reintegration, which is something that also needs to be studied; in other words, it is necessary to know whether or not these people can be reintegrated into society. If they cannot be reintegrated, prison should be permanent.

The VOX Parliamentary Group, through its spokesperson in the Interior Commission, Macarena Olona, considers the current government's security measures for the fight against terrorism to be insufficient and urges it to take concrete measures to prevent attacks on Spain. These include international cooperation and border recognition. As for custodial sentences, Vox agrees, although it adds that other sanctions are necessary, such as the loss of Spanish nationality obtained by derivative acquisition (i.e. for those who are not originally Spanish) when they have been convicted of terrorist offences.

What is VOX's assessment of the Spanish government's current plan for security measures?

We consider them to be absolutely deficient. Due to Spain's geographical location, we are the gateway to Europe for the entire African continent and therefore one of the main problems that Spain suffers is the entry of jihadist terrorists through illegal immigration, which is why we consider it absolutely necessary for the Government to become aware of the threat posed to Spanish society by uncontrolled migratory flows, instigated and encouraged by large organised crime networks, which on many occasions form a symbiosis with terrorist groups. A reality that has been denied in the Congress of Deputies, in the National Security Commission, by the other political formations when, in the initiatives that VOX has promoted based on police and judicial evidence of the entry of jihadists through illegal migratory flows, this evidence has been denied and we have been described as racists.

VOX proposes that, by virtue of articles 23 and 24 of Law 36/2015 of 28 September on National Security, the migratory invasion suffered by Spain should be declared a situation of interest for National Security and should include the deployment of all necessary and sufficient human and material resources (art.24.1 section E), in order to prevent, protect and dissuade the docking of boats with illegal immigrants.

In terms of preventing violent radicalisation, what are the party's proposals?

In VOX's programme of 100 measures we have initiatives on the prevention of radicalisation, among which we find:

• The closure of fundamentalist mosques and expulsion of imams who propagate fundamentalism, contempt for women, or jihad.
• Reject and outlaw third-country funding of places of worship on Spanish soil.
• Demand that those responsible for the Islamic religion in Spain cooperate fully in the detection of radicals and the exclusion of the teaching of Islam in public schools.
• Strengthen our borders: Build an impassable wall in Ceuta and Melilla and give the police and armed forces all the material and human resources they need to guard our borders effectively, along with the corresponding legal protection.
• Increase and rationalise the defence budget.
• Demand that Morocco fully recognise and respect Spanish sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla.
• Publish data on nationality and origin in crime statistics.
• Spain will participate in military missions to combat the jihadist threat in accordance with our interests and capabilities.
• Suspend the Schengen area until there is a European guarantee that it will not be used by criminals to flee from justice (as the separatist coup plotters have done) or exploited by illegal immigration mafias to smuggle people in.

What changes or new measures would you include in the area of counter-terrorism, at the level of security and prevention?

There are many initiatives that we have presented in Congress, bringing changes and new measures to prevent and combat terrorism.

Among them, we have registered a PNL in the National Security Commission on 3 December 2020 to increase and encourage national and EU border controls, respectively, as well as to optimise coordination between the State Security Forces and Corps as measures to prevent and combat terrorism infiltrated as irregular immigration.

Similarly, for the purposes of prevention and security in the fight against terrorism, we have registered numerous PNLS in the Congress of Deputies with a view to adopting measures on illegal immigration. Among them, we can highlight a PNL registered in the National Security Committee on 27 November 2020, on the adoption of urgent countermeasures in order to stem the massive wave of illegal immigration to our coasts.
Among the measures we called for, and which we consider key to preventing international terrorism, are:

• Suspending the issuing of European visas to citizens of countries of origin of illegal immigration if these countries do not readmit to their borders those illegal immigrants they allow to leave their coasts.
• Denounce before international bodies the aggression suffered by Spain on the part of the North African states for failing to control illegal immigration.

Another PNL registered on 5 March 2021 in the Joint Commission on National Security regarding the promotion of all necessary actions with the aim of providing the FCSE deployed in the Canary Islands with sufficient and appropriate means, resources and personnel, in order to avoid and prevent the infiltration of jihadists through the massive flows of illegal immigration to the Canary Islands archipelago. We consider it essential that our FCSE be provided with all the material and human resources necessary to combat illegal immigration and fight terrorism.

But the fight against terrorism is not limited to jihadist terrorism; the VOX Parliamentary Group is aware of the undoubted exponential increase in terrorism carried out by the extreme left and as such registered a PNL on 3 July 2020 in the Congress of Deputies, in which it urged the Government to develop a protocol for action and security in the face of the danger generated by the increase in this type of terrorism.

Do you think the current legislation's stipulation of prison sentences for terrorism-related offences is correct or would you propose changes?

The stipulation of prison sentences for terrorist offences seems to be correct, but not sufficient, as the commission of a terrorist offence must have other consequences, which must be reflected in the sentence imposed, along with the prison sentence.

And in this sense, the VOX Parliamentary Group, on 23 March 2021, registered an NLP before the Plenary of the Congress of Deputies urging the Government to undertake a reform of the Penal Code introducing the loss of Spanish nationality obtained by derivative acquisition (i.e. to those who are not originally Spanish) when they have been convicted of terrorist offences, serious offences against public order or committed within criminal organisations, since the commission of any of these offences implies a severance of the individual's link with the State from which he or she has obtained nationality, as it jeopardises the protection of the State and all its nationals. In this sense, the security and protection of the State and its nationals must take precedence over the preservation of the nationality of a Spaniard who has acquired it by derivation.

*Unidas Podemos: In its electoral programme only two points can be found that refer to the fight against terrorism.

Point 44. A secure Europe from a rights-based approach. Police and judicial cooperation will be promoted in the fight against terrorism and transnational organised crime -in particular, in the prosecution of fraud and corruption-, achieving greater involvement of Eurojust and Europol. Mechanisms will be put in place to cut off foreign sources of income for transnational crime and to pursue their hidden funding. As noted in the European Anti-Corruption Plan, the EU will establish a police force specialised in corruption and financial crime, acting under the authority of the judiciary of the states, while strengthening the Financial Intelligence Units in the states themselves.

Point 145. Comprehensive Plan against International Terrorism. A comprehensive approach to the phenomenon will be proposed that will also respond to the causes on which terrorist groups spread their barbarism: exclusion, inequalities, the spread of the culture of hate, intolerance, religious fundamentalism, as well as their sources of financing and access to weapons. In parallel, mechanisms will be put in place to improve police, judicial and intelligence cooperation and the exchange of information at European level and between Member States, and to adopt evidence-based security and prevention policies that are not detrimental to civil liberties.
During the summer of 2016, after the attack in Nice, the party's Political Secretariat issued a report with measures to combat Daesh, such as cutting off the terrorist group's financing and logistical supply routes, neutralising its recruitment and indoctrination networks, supporting democratic forces in the Arab world, ending the war in Syria and Iraq, protecting refugees, putting an end to the mafias that traffic in people and, finally, "combating the xenophobia that is scapegoating refugees”.

With all the data and information obtained, the parties interviewed suggest, in general, that there is room for improvement in legislation and in the fight against terrorism and violent radicalisation. With the exception of the PSOE, which firmly affirms that it considers the government's anti-terrorism and anti-radicalisation efforts to be correct, the other parties consider that it is necessary to introduce new and renewed measures to put an end to this phenomenon.

Although there is a discrepancy between the different political actors, it could be said that they are all aware of the need for unity in the fight against terrorism. Each of them has proposed different measures that they consider fundamental; for example, the PSOE gives importance to collaboration between the different national bodies (National Police, Civil Guard, CITCO); the PP, while explaining that certain areas must be improved, such as the prohibition of tributes to ETA members, gives priority to European collaboration; Cs bases its strategy on the prevention of violent radicalisation through education and the creation of an Observatory to study the phenomenon; and finally, VOX is more critical of the government, prioritising border control and curbing illegal immigration.

Finally, from its programme, Unidas Podemos only gives a few hints about its measures against terrorism, sticking to what is stipulated by the European Union and giving more importance to the indirect social causes of terrorism rather than the fight against the phenomenon itself.

Vera de Benito Ortega, Sec2Crime

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