back to navigation page Vienna International Centre, PO Box 500, 1400 Vienna, Austria Tel.: (+43-1) 26060-0, Fax: (+43-1) 26060-5866, www.unodc.org Digest of Terrorist Cases United Nations publication Printed in Austria *0986635*V.09-86635—March 2010—500 UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME Vienna Digest of Terrorist Cases UNITED NATIONS New York, 2010 This publication is dedicated to victims of terrorist acts worldwide © United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, January 2010. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. This publication has not been formally edited. Publishing production: UNOV/DM/CMS/EPLS/Electronic Publishing Unit. “Terrorists may exploit vulnerabilities and grievances to breed extremism at the local level, but they can quickly connect with others at the international level. Similarly, the struggle against terrorism requires us to share experiences and best practices at the global level.” “The UN system has a vital contribution to make in all the relevant areas— from promoting the rule of law and effective criminal justice systems to ensuring countries have the means to counter the financing of terrorism; from strengthening capacity to prevent nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological materials from falling into the hands of terrorists, to improving the ability of countries to provide assistance and support for victims and their families.” Ban Ki-moon Secretary-General of the United Nations (The picture on the cover shows the aftermath of the bombing of the United Nations building in Algiers, 11 December 2007) iii Preface Director-General/Executive Director United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) brought together senior criminal justice experts—including Attorney-Generals and Chief Prosecutors—to share experiences and good practices on how to deal with terrorism cases. The outcome is this Digest of Terrorist Cases, giving policymakers and criminal justice officials practi- cal ideas and expert insights on how to deal with a relatively new field of jurisprudence. It complements other UNODC tools that provide guidance on how to address acts of terrorism within a legal framework, like legislative guides. The judicial cases featured in this Digest cover relevant aspects of the international legal regime against terrorism. It provides a comparative analysis of national statutory frame- works for terrorism prosecutions, and it identifies legal issues and pitfalls encountered in investigating and adjudicating relevant offences. In addition, it identifies practices related to specialized investigative and prosecutorial techniques. It also addresses the links between terrorism and other forms of crime (like organized crime, the trafficking of drugs, people and arms), as well as how to disrupt terrorist financing. Our hope is that this handbook, which has been made possible by the generous support of donor countries, in particular, Colombia, Germany and Italy, will strengthen the legal regime against terrorism. Antonio Maria Costa v Minister of Interior and Justice Republic of Colombia Terrorism is a threat to world peace and security and therefore constitutes a problem affecting the whole of humanity. Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, and is a method of producing anxiety based on repeated violent action by an individual or group of persons who, from ideological, political or criminal motives, create panic, worry, death, resentment and hatred, leaving behind them destruction, poverty, orphans and widows. States must join efforts at the local, national, bilateral, regional, biregional and inter- national levels to deal with the various manifestations of terrorism; for this purpose, strengthened international cooperation is called for within the framework of joint and shared responsibility, with a comprehensive, multidisciplinary and sustainable approach. Narcotics trafficking and other transnational crimes have become the main source of financing for terrorism, serving the interests of illegal armed groups that imperil governability, obstruct economic and social development, weaken democratic institutions, increase violence, violate human rights and destroy the natural environment. The painful experience of Colombia as a victim of the activities of terrorist groups and their clear links with illicit drug production and trafficking are well known. To counter these activities, we have had to build up an institutional structure including prevention, investigation, law enforcement and sanctions for terrorists. At the same time, this painful experience, which has cost the lives of many soldiers and police officers, has also strengthened us. Colombia has not confined itself to requesting the understanding, solidarity and support of the international community in the fight against terrorism. We also offer technical assistance and cooperation to those needing it. The Digest of Terrorist Cases, which we have the honour to present, is an example of this cooperation. The Digest of Terrorist Cases represents an important contribution towards the preven- tion, investigation and prosecution of actual terrorist acts in different parts of the world, and aims to provide those responsible for formulating public policy, judicial officials in the criminal justice field and police investigators in all the States Members of the United Nations with valuable tools for disrupting criminal organizations engaged in activities of this type. This handbook provides a practical guide based on a compilation of investigative work, and offers a general strategy of “good practices” in regard to investigative and judicial techniques and a unique and precious tool for professionals and experts working to prevent and fight terrorism. I am certain that the handbook will serve as a useful training instrument for all those responsible for combating this pernicious criminal activity. Fabio Valencia Cossio vi Minister of Foreign Affairs Republic of Italy Terrorism continues to represent one of the greatest global challenges to international peace, stability and security. When Italy agreed to host in Rome, on June 25 and 26 2009, the experts meeting on the final elaboration of this operational Digest of Terrorist Cases, it did so on the grounds of a dual international role: as coordinating country for terrorism within the European Union’s Permanent Missions to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and as President of the G8. Terrorism has indeed been very high on our G8 agenda. While UNODC experts were meeting in Rome, on those same two days, in Trieste, among other issues, my colleagues and I were discussing the impact of terrorism in the world’s most problematic regions. In accordance with a practice that dates back to 2002, at the Summit of L’Aquila, the G8 Leaders adopted in July 2009 an ad hoc Declaration on Counter-Terrorism; the essence of that high-level political document mirrors the core of this Digest, which is that, to be credible and effective, the struggle against this scourge must first of all have a strong legal foundation. Our answer to any kind of terrorist threat that challenges the Rule of Law should be the promotion and the enforcement of Rule of Law itself, includ- ing the observance of the whole set of guarantees that must be universally applied, in any trial and procedure, to ensure full respect of fundamental human rights. As this useful international Digest of different national cases practically demonstrates, to be credible and effective in the war against terror another condition should also be met. I refer to the necessity for strong and continuous cooperation efforts by the International Community at any level, in all competent forums, starting with the United Nations, the only organization suited to fostering a universal consensus on counter terrorism goals and methods. With this in mind, the Italian G8 Presidency enhanced the role of the UNODC’s Terrorism Prevention Branch within the Rome-Lyon working group and also, together with the Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) of the United Nations Security Coun- cil, admitted new partners to the local meetings of the Counter Terrorism Action Group. In continuance of this firm belief, that favours outreach policies and comprehensive approaches, in April 2009 the innovative G8 Conference of Rome on Transnational Threats and Destabilizing Factors was attended by representatives from several non-G8 countries as well as from relevant international organizations and think tanks. A signifi- cant conclusion of that fruitful exercise was that, as some of the cases reported in this Digest specifically demonstrate, the financing of terrorism is often connected to illegal economic circuits handled by organized crime, which, in turn, may be dangerously influenced by international economic trends and their actual or potential interactions with other issues of global concern. I am confident that this Digest will be of help to law enforcement agencies, prosecutor offices and other critical stakeholders all around the world, both in their training activities as well as in their everyday work. I also expect that it will contribute to the promotion of political debate among Governments and institutions, particularly