Eye on Extremism, June 14, 2016

Eye on Extremism

June 14, 2016

Counter Extremism Project

Sputnik: Orlando Attack Shows Need To Disrupt Extremist Social Media - NGO
“Counter Extremism Project executive director David Ibsen claims that the Sunday terror attack in Orlando, Florida highlights the need for social media companies to more actively disrupt extremist messaging on their platforms. ‘It is imperative that social media companies do more to prevent extremist groups from weaponizing the internet in pursuit of new recruits or to convince individuals to carry out violent attacks in their home countries,’ Ibsen said on Monday. Early on Sunday, 29 year-old Omar Mateen opened fire in a crowded gay nightclub in Orlando killing 49 people before he was shot and killed by authorities. Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey said on Monday that Mateen espoused support for a number of extremist terror groups, including al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.”
Reuters: Orlando Gunman Likely 'Radicalized' Through Internet, U.S. Says
“U.S. authorities said on Monday they had found no direct links between Islamic State militants and the gunman who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, describing him as a homegrown extremist who was inspired by radical Islamist groups. Omar Mateen, the perpetrator of the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, had expressed support for multiple armed Islamist movements and people, which ‘adds a little bit to the confusion about his motives,’ FBI Director James Comey said. Mateen, 29, the U.S.-born son of Afghan immigrants, was fatally shot by police who stormed Orlando's Pulse club with armored cars after a three-hour siege.”
NBC News: The Glaring Gaps In How The U.S. Combats Homegrown Terrorism
“The warning signs that checkered Omar Mateen's life, hinting at a future bent toward brutal violence, only intensified in recent years. Federal agents first questioned Mateen, the gunman responsible for Sunday's deadly attack at a gay club in Orlando, in 2013 for espousing Islamic propaganda at work. The investigation took 10 months. They investigated him again in 2014, just months after the previous one concluded, probing a potential link to an American citizen-turned suicide bomber in Syria. The case also highlights the glaring gaps in the model used to combat the full spectrum of homegrown extremism in the United States. Federal authorities frequently keep tabs on a network of individuals identified as potential terrorist sympathizers. Yet there's no universal approach toward de-escalating extremism outside of the criminal justice system.”
Associated Press: Suspected US Drone Kills 3 Al-Qaida Suspects In Yemen
“A suspected U.S. drone killed three alleged al-Qaida fighters in an airstrike in the central Shabwa province, Yemeni security officials said Monday. The officials said the overnight attack hit the men's vehicle as they were travelling near the town of Haban. The officials also said that in the onetime al-Qaida stronghold of Mukalla, on Yemen's southern coast, troops from the United Arab Emirates and others in the Saudi-led coalition who are primarily fighting Yemen's anti-government Shiite rebels conducted raids on homes seeking al-Qaida operatives. They say some 150 suspects were detained. Activists close to al-Qaida said the men were being tortured in prisons run by Emirati forces.”
The Wall Street Journal: Libya Forces Advance On Islamic State Stronghold
“Forces aligned with Libya’s internationally backed unity government closed in on the center of the Islamic State stronghold of Sirte during the weekend, giving a boost to an administration struggling to unite the fractured nation. In the past three weeks, militias that recently threw their support behind the government captured about 80% of Sirte and on Sunday pushed deeper into the city, said Ismail Shukri, head of military intelligence for the militias. The offensive has been surprisingly quick and successful, military and intelligence officials said. Some 150 miles of Mediterranean coastline that Islamic State had controlled around Sirte has been reduced to about 50 miles in less than a month, the officials said.”
Mirror: Who Is Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi? ISIS Leader 'Dead' In US-Led Air Strike
“Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi - the secretive leader of Islamic State - has been killed, according to reports. News first broke in a statement from the al-Amaq news agency, which has close links to ISIS. In a statement, the agency claimed: "Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed by coalition air strikes on Raqqa on the fifth day of Ramadan."”
The Hill: Pentagon Uses Apache Helicopters In Iraq For First Time
“Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Monday that U.S. commanders in Iraq have used Apache helicopters for the first time to attack the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in operations near Mosul. A senior defense official said more than one Apache flew the mission, although only one struck; the official said an ISIS target was destroyed.  The use of the low-flying helicopters adds a new role for U.S. forces in combat against ISIS, though at increased risk. Asked if U.S. troops are now involved in ‘offensive combat,’ Carter said: ‘We're dropping bombs everyday, we're firing missiles, we have people who are advising.’”
The New York Times: Philippines Confirms Killing of Robert Hall, Canadian Hostage, by Abu Sayyaf
“Philippine officials confirmed on Tuesday that a Canadian man held captive by the militant group Abu Sayyaf had been decapitated, the second hostage from Canada killed in the war-torn southern Philippines this year. The man, Robert Hall, 50, was abducted in September with three other people — one of dozens of such kidnappings carried out in the last few decades by Abu Sayyaf, an organization of several hundred fighters that has functioned as a kidnap-for-ransom gang. The group has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.”
Newsweek: Nigeria: Ex-Niger Delta Militants Urge Avengers To Negotiate With Government
“Former Nigerian militants who wreaked havoc in the Niger Delta in the mid-2000s have urged the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) to enter into dialogue with the government. The NDA has carried out a series of attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta since February, cutting oil production by to a 20-year low. The identity of the group has not been definitively established, although the NDA has distanced itself from ex-militants in the Niger Delta and appears to support the pro-Biafra movement, which is calling for the independence of a region in southeast Nigeria formerly known as Biafra. Nigerian Petroleum Minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu has said that the government is attempting to establish a dialogue with stakeholders in the Niger Delta, including the NDA and other militants”
National Review: ISIS’s Recruiting Strategy: Use Technology To Turn Losers Into Terrorists
“ISIS looks to isolated, lonely Westerners to carry on its jihad. Omar Mateen, the Orlando shooter, and many of his terrorist colleagues are not simply moral cretins: They are losers. Often feeling their life has been a failure, these terrorists choose to pursue a stolen destiny rather than introspection. Where most of us endeavor to improve our state of being, the terrorists see terrorism as a chance to ‘make things right.’ It is cowardice cloaked in false courage. Martyrdom videos (‘why I did it’ recordings made prior to an attack) exemplify this dynamic. Alongside the wild gesticulation, glaring threats, and occasional utterances in Arabic, such recordings tend to show the terrorist smiling proudly. Daesh is exceptionally skilled at taking advantage of such losers.”
International Business Times: The FBI Has Spent Billions On Terror Databases. How Come They Didn’t Catch The Orlando Gunman?
“Three years before Omar Mateen walked into a Florida nightclub wielding an assault rifle and a handgun, he was questioned twice by the FBI about links to terrorist organizations overseas. But despite their direct questioning — and despite a high-tech FBI anti-terrorism database that has cost taxpayers billions of dollars to build — the gunman slipped through the FBI’s reach.  On Saturday night, using weapons he bought within the past two weeks, Mateen gunned down 49 people and injured 53 more in an Orlando nightclub. The massacre is America’s worst mass shooting in history.  As investigators piece together what motivated Mateen to unleash the bloody slaughter, another important question will linger for both the FBI and lawmakers: How effective are the country’s surveillance and database systems if a man who was at one time under terror suspicion by the federal government can freely buy an assault rifle just two years after being investigated by the FBI?”

United States

The Wall Street Journal: Obama Says Orlando Shooter Was ‘Homegrown’ Terrorist
“President Barack Obama said the shooter who killed 49 people and injured 53 others at an Orlando gay nightclub apparently was self-radicalized and ‘an example of homegrown extremism.’ The president noted the man police have identified as the gunman, Omar S. Mateen, purchased a gun legally and was inspired by extremist information disseminated over the internet. Mr. Mateen pledged allegiance to Islamic State ‘at the last minute,’ Mr. Obama said. Meanwhile, investigators have found that Mr. Mateen previously visited Walt Disney World while searching for targets, according to two officials briefed on the probe. They added they don’t believe he examined the amusement park in the hours immediately before the nightclub shooting—and would not say which Disney World property was scouted.”
Reuters: U.S. May Not Make Afghanistan Troop Decision By Warsaw Summit
“U.S. President Barack Obama may not decide before a NATO summit next month whether to alter plans to nearly halve America's forces in Afghanistan, a diplomat and a U.S. official said. A decision had been expected at or before the summit in Warsaw on July 8-9 on whether to stick to plans to slash the 9,800 troops to 5,500 before Obama leaves office next year. Former commanders and envoys have warned that it would be a mistake. And with preparations in full swing for the summit, the timing of any decision by Obama remains unclear. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter flies to Brussels on Monday to meet NATO counterparts, with Afghanistan expected to be high on the agenda.”
Fox News: FBI Searching Orlando Gunman's Computer For Digital Evidence He Scouted Disney World
“Investigators from the FBI are searching the electronic devices of the Muslim terrorist who killed at least 49 people in an Orlando nightclub for any direct indications that he planned to target Disney World or nearby Downtown Disney, a law enforcement source close to the investigation told Fox News on Monday. The search for evidence of any plan to target Disney is in addition to scrubbing those devices for communications with any FBI-flagged individuals, domestic or international, the source said. As of Monday, investigators are currently scrubbing the Pulse nightclub gunman’s computer for any pictures or videos of Disney World that would suggest Omar Mateen cased the park or its surrounding areas as a potential target, according to the source.”

Syria

The Washington Post: The Islamic State’s Shocking War On Gays
“Omar Mateen, the man behind the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, seemed motivated by two things: a loathing of the LGBT community and an avowed admiration for the Islamic State militant group, which has inspired ‘lone wolf’ attacks elsewhere in the United States and the world. But if there is a clear link between the attack in Orlando and the Islamic State, it would be the most high-profile incident yet in the group's wider, relentless campaign against gays. Ever since the group came to prominence amid security vacuums in Iraq and Syria, it has set about persecuting religious minorities, women and others whose identity and lifestyle are anathema to its puritanical creed. In areas under the control of the Islamic State, its fighters have issued edicts against homosexual behavior and flashy hairstyles and promised death for anyone caught in the act of sodomy.”
Sputnik: Syria Ceasefire Violated 5 Times In Damascus Area In Past 24 Hours
“A total of five ceasefire violations were registered in Syria’s Damascus province in the last 24 hours, although the truce largely held, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that a total of five ceasefire violations were registered in Syria’s Damascus province in the last 24 hours, although the truce largely held. Russia’s reconciliation center in western Syria’s Hmeimim stressed that self-described ‘oppositio’" Jaysh al-Islam group continued shelling Syrian army positions in Arbil as well as the village of Harasta al-Bansal. This was despite a Russia-US brokered ceasefire deal that came into being in Syria on February 27.”

Iraq

Associated Press: Iraq Probes Human Rights Violations In Fallujah Offensive
“Iraq said Monday it had launched an investigation into possible human rights abuses against civilians fleeing the Islamic State-held city of Fallujah as a senior U.N. official said more than 7,300 people had left the city in the last two days. Iraqi government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi said some fighters suspected of violating human rights during the three-week-old operation to retake the city have been arrested over the past few days and are under investigation. Lise Grande, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said the United Nations estimates that there had been about 90,000 people in Fallujah, and between 42,000 and 43,000 have now fled — including about 4,000 on Sunday and 3,300 on Monday.”
Reuters: Iraq Makes Arrests Over Reports Of Sunnis Executed In Falluja
“Iraq said on Monday it had made arrests as it investigates allegations that Shi'ite militiamen helping the army retake Falluja had executed dozens of Sunni Muslim men fleeing the city held by Islamic State. Iraqi authorities ‘are following up on the violations and a number of arrests have been made,’ government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi said after a regional governor said 49 Sunni men had been executed after surrendering to a Shi'ite faction. Sohaib al-Rawi, governor of Anbar province where Falluja is located, said on Sunday that 643 men had gone missing between June 3 and June 5, and ‘all the surviving detainees were subjected to severe and collective torture by various means.’ The participation of militias in the battle of Falluja, just west of Baghdad, alongside the Iraqi army had already raised fears of sectarian killings.”

Turkey

Reuters: Turkey Working On Steps To Counter German's Genocide Resolution - Deputy PM
“Ankara is working on potential steps in response to the German parliament passing a resolution declaring the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces a genocide, Turkish deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli said on Monday. ‘It is not possible for us to remain indifferent to this,’ Canikli told a press conference during a cabinet meeting. Work on whether it would be possible to overturn this decision and what steps can be taken is still underway,’ he said.”
Reuters: Syrian Activist Shot By Islamic State Fighters In Southeast Turkey
“A Syrian journalist campaigning against Islamic State has been shot by fighters from the group in southeastern Turkey, a news agency affiliated with the radical Islamists and Syrian activists said on Monday. Ahmed Abdulkader was shot in the head by two Islamic State militants riding a motorcycle and is being treated in the intensive care unit of Sanliurfa state hospital, an official in the provincial governor's office said. The Amaq news agency, which is close to Islamic State, said Abdulkader was the head of a local newspaper and one of the founders of ‘Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently’, a campaign group against the radical militants.”
Reuters: Car Bomb In Eastern Turkey Wounds Nine People - Security Sources
“A car bomb wounded nine people in the eastern Turkish province of Tunceli on Monday near a housing block for civil servants working at a local courthouse, security sources said. Three of the wounded were in critical condition after the blast in the district of Ovacik, the sources said. Television images showed the remains of a vehicle burning on the road and smoke rising from damaged buildings. Separately, three members of the armed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were killed in a clash in the centre of Van, a city close to the Iranian border, security sources said. A police officer was hurt in the firefight.”

Afghanistan

Reuters: Facing Fewer Checkpoints, Taliban Make Afghan Road Trips More Risky
“A series of kidnappings and murders on Afghanistan's highways has some officials and travelers questioning the NATO-backed strategy that reduced security check posts protecting roads in order to free up police and soldiers to go after the Taliban. Since the end of May, more than 200 people have been reported kidnapped and at least 21 murdered in northern and eastern Afghanistan. Roads have long been dangerous in the war-torn country, as the Taliban insurgency and other Islamist militant groups expanded their reach. But the spike in abductions and killings, widely blamed on the Taliban, comes a few months after the NATO-led international mission encouraged Afghan security forces to close many smaller checkpoints.”
The Washington Post: Former Afghan Leader Karzai: Military Action Cannot Resolve Conflict In Afghanistan
“The United States should limit its military mission in Afghanistan to supporting local forces and should intensify pressure on Pakistan to jump-start peace talks with the Taliban, the country’s former president said. Hamid Karzai, who ruled Afghanistan with Western backing from 2001 to 2014, sounded a note of skepticism about recent changes to the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan, which reflect ongoing insecurity and the continued strength of the Taliban.  ‘I don’t think military means will bring us [peace],’ Karzai said in an interview with The Washington Post. ‘We did it for the last 14 years and it didn’t bring us that, so how do we know…military action will bring us that now?’”
The New York Times: Afghanistan And Pakistan Exchange Heavy Gunfire Along Border
“Pakistani and Afghan forces exchanged heavy gunfire on Sunday and Monday in an unusually serious escalation of tensions at the border, leaving at least 13 people wounded on the Pakistani side and killing at least one Afghan police officer, according to the police and military officials in both countries. The fighting, which began on Sunday night and resumed Monday, forced the closing of the Torkham border crossing, the busiest between the two countries. The escalation followed the closing of the Torkham crossing last month after Afghan border security guards objected to the construction of a gate on the Pakistani side. That objection also apparently contributed to the conflict on Sunday, according to official accounts from both sides.”

Yemen

The Wall Street Journal: A Yemeni City Adjusts To Life After Al Qaeda’s Retreat
“Just over a month after AQAP fled an advancing Saudi-led military offensive, a picture is emerging of how the extremist group governed what had been its crown jewel. Unlike Islamic State, AQAP, an affiliate of al Qaeda that claimed responsibility for the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris last year, hasn’t made territorial control its focus in the seven years since its founding in Yemen. This city of 300,000, sitting at the foot of a chain of coastal mountains, was the most populous territory al Qaeda had ever held. Yet some residents here said AQAP provided a level of stability and engagement that was lacking under previous governments, an achievement that will help it maintain loyal allegiances on the ground despite its retreat.”

Egypt

Reuters: Egyptian Investigators Say Egyptair Black Boxes To Stop Emitting Signals June 24
“The flight data recorders from an EgyptAir jet that crashed in the Mediterranean last month are expected to stop emitting signals on June 24, and search boats are working against the clock to retrieve them, Egyptian investigators said on Monday. Without the ‘black boxes’, investigators say there is not enough information to explain why flight MS804 crashed on May 19, killing all 66 people on board. The Egyptian-led investigation committee said in a statement that it had accepted a request by the United States' National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to have a representative join the investigation team. The plane's engines were built by a consortium led by the U.S. firm Pratt & Whitney. The country where the engines were built is often invited to take part in an air crash investigation, although it is not compulsory.”

Libya

BBC: UN Urges Libya To Probe Murder Of Ex-Detainees
“The UN envoy to Libya has called for an investigation into the murders of 12 men soon after their release from jail in the capital Tripoli last week. They had been accused of taking part in the killings and torture of anti-government protesters in 2011, under then-leader Col Muammar Gaddafi. The bodies of the 12 men were found in various parts of Tripoli last Friday, a day after their release. All had been beaten and shot in the chest and head, their families say. On Monday Martin Kobler, Special Representative of the UN Support Mission in Libya said he was ‘utterly shocked’ by this ‘vile crime’.”

Nigeria

Reuters: Nigeria's Boko Haram Victims Bounce Back With Businesses In Camps
“With more than one million people living in camps around Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri, having fled their homes due to Boko Haram attacks, some are finding innovative ways to rebuild businesses from scratch. Many of the displaced arrived at the camps with no money or possessions, leaving them totally dependent on the government and humanitarian organizations for their day-to-day survival. Despite the harsh conditions of the camps, which host up to 30,000 residents, entrepreneurial spirit is not in short supply. Several of those uprooted by the Islamist militant group, such as shopkeeper Modu Mustafa, have launched profit-making businesses within internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.”

United Kingdom

BBC: Concerns Over UK LGBT Venues 'Copycat' Style Terror Attacks
“There are concerns a ‘copycat’ style terror attack could happen in LGBT venues in the UK. The owner of the four G-A-Y venues across the country tells Newsbeat there is ‘always a constant threat’ because of attacks abroad. It's after 49 people died in a shooting in a gay club in Orlando, Florida. ‘I've spoken to police and they've been very reassuring but the problem is that it's lone people doing this,’ Jeremy Joseph explains. After the November 2015 Paris attacks, posters were put up in the Manchester and London venues raising awareness of the threat level. And following terror police advice ‘changes were made’ to security at the venues.”

France

Associated Press: Officials: Police Couple Killed Outside Paris, Child Rescued
“A knife-wielding attacker stabbed a senior police officer to death Monday evening outside his home in a distant suburb of Paris, officials said. The attacker and a female companion of the police commander were later found dead after police commandos stormed the home and rescued the couple's three-year-old son. French officials said anti-terrorism prosecutors were investigating the attack. The Islamic State's Amaq news agency cited an unnamed ‘source’ as saying an IS fighter carried out the attack, but the extremist jihadist group has not officially claimed responsibility.”
Sputnik: France Detains Affiliate Of Man Arrested For Planning Euro-2016 Attacks
“Earlier in June, Ukrainian authorities said that they had detained a French citizen on Ukraine's border with Poland. The suspect was carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles, grenade launchers, explosives and detonators in his car. He was charged with smuggling, illegal handling of weapons and terrorism. The Ukrainian officials said the suspect was planning 15 terror attacks across France during the tournament. According to Le Parisien newspaper, his alleged affiliate, 40-year-old Eric G., was detained at his home in Stainville commune of France’s northeastern Meuse department. A source close to the investigation carried out by the French police reportedly said that the two suspects met in July 2014 while working together at the Polish-Ukrainian border, and shared extreme right views.”
Sputnik: French Police Arrested 182 Terror Suspects Since Start Of 2016 – Official
“Sixty-five people were sentenced on terror charges and given jail terms, according to the minister, who was cited on the ministerial Twitter feed. France tightened security at the Euro-2016 football tournament venues on Monday after Sunday’s mass shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, left 49 people dead. Daesh group reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack. France has been on high alert since last November when jihadists killed 130 people in Paris in a series of near-simultaneous gun and bomb attacks.”

Europe

The Wall Street Journal: Europeans Most Worried About Islamic State, Survey Says
“A new survey said Islamic State is viewed as the greatest threat to Europe, narrowly outpacing climate change and economic instability and well ahead of tensions with Russia. The research, by the Pew Research Center, showed a median of 76% of people across 10 European countries named the Islamic State militant group as a major threat. In contrast, a median of 34% cited Russia as a major threat, with 48% saying it was a minor threat. The survey found Europe divided both politically and geographically over the issue of Iraqi and Syrian refugees. In Poland and Hungary, large majorities identified the migrant flow as a major threat. But only a minority in Netherlands, Germany or Sweden viewed the migrant flow as a threat. Both Germany and Sweden have taken in a large number of Syrian migrants.”
Reuters: Bosnian Children With Islamic State Are 'Time Bomb', Study Says
“More than 80 Bosnian children are in Islamic State-held territory in Syria and Iraq and represent a ‘time bomb’ that could pose a major security risk when they return, a study said on Monday. Bosnian Muslims are the largest group from the Western Balkans fighting for Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, alongside fighters from countries such as Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. The study by the non-profit Sarajevo-based Atlantic Initiative, which made an advance copy available to Reuters, found that the number of adult male fighters, estimated at 188 in the three-year period to end-2015, had dropped to 91, after 47 returned to Bosnia and 50 had been killed. As of April, less than half of Bosnians in Syria were men of military age, while there were also 52 women and 80 children. Some children, who went to the region with their families, have joined Islamic State combat units, the study said.”

Arabic Language Clips

ISIS

Shafaaq News: ISIS Obtaining Thousands Of Dollars In Exchange For The Escape Of 4000 People From Fallujah
A relief agency declared that 4000 people have fled the ISIS- controlled city of Fallujah after Iraqi forces retook a main road to the terror organization's stronghold over the weekend. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), which works with Iraqi refugees and displaced persons, claimed in a statement that this raises to 27,580 the number of people who have fled Fallujah since the start of the Iraqi attack to recapture the city in late May. NRC disclosed that some refugees have testified that ISIS militants are demanding payment of 150,000 Iraqi dinars, or roughly $130, per person to allow them to leave the besieged city.

Hezbollah

Alrai: What If Hezbollah Asks Its Supporters To Withdraw Their Deposits And Buy Real Estate?
After the banking sanctions reached the "Great Prophet Hospital" which is owned by Hezbollah and located a few hundred meters from the Beirut Airport, the Shiite group now believes that the target is no longer its members. Hezbollah claims that the sanctions are targeting the "supportive environment" that backed its involvement in the Syrian War. For this reason, Hezbollah believes the real target of the sanctions is its "livelihood". The Shiite wealth in Lebanon, the engagement of its owners with the outside world and their affiliation with (the Shiite community), even in the form of religious donations, make them the target of foreign security services. This poses a threat for them to be regarded and treated as terrorists in other countries, should the US law passed on December 18^th, 2012 be implemented. Informed sources in Beirut added that "Hezbollah thinks that these US measures are designed to put pressure not only on Lebanon but also on the European Community to impose a fait accompli, which would force the EC to include Hezbollah's political wing (and not just its military arm) on the terrorist blacklist in the same way the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and the Arab League did."

Muslim Brotherhood

Yemen Akhbar: United Arab Emirates Enters Direct War With Yemen's Brotherhood And Declares The Imprisonment Of Their (Associates) And The Confiscation Of Their Money
A United Arab Emirates court on Monday handed down its sentence to Muslim Brotherhood associates in the case known as the "Yemeni Muslim Brotherhood Organization." The State Security Court of the UAE Federal Supreme Court sentenced the defendants (14 Yemenis and four Emirati citizens) to three years in prison. The 18 were convicted of establishing a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood organization in the UAE along with additional charges, including collecting donations and funds without prior authorization from the proper authorities, joining an illegal organization in the UAE and calling to oppose the fundamental principles of the UAE's regime." The court also ordered confiscation of 3 million dirhams ($818,000) belonging to the organization.
Veto: Funding And Financial Support Crisis Sounds Alarm Inside The Brotherhood
The office of the Muslim Brotherhood in Fayoum disclosed the renewal of the financial crisis inside the group. It stressed that while the probe into the issue of funding the office took several months, the handling of other issues took much less time and in some cases only a few days. This has made officials of the Fayoum office wonder, "Isn't this a double standard?" The Muslim Brotherhood's office in Fayoum sent a message to the acting leader of the group, stressing that "these are Waqf funds, which do not belong to any individual or group."

Houthi

Asharq Alawsat: Houthis Try To Establish An Illegal Bank To 'Legitimize' Financial Corruption In Sanaa
Senior Yemeni security sources revealed an attempt by the Houthis to illegally form an investment bank in order to "legitimize" financial corruption in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. According to documents obtained by Asharq Alawsat newspaper, Houthi cells working in the Yemeni Interior Ministry in Sanaa plotted the embezzlement of 61% of the ministry's budget. The scheme involved the establishment of an investment bank called "the Islamic Investment Bank of Development."