Why civilized world should recognize Russia as terrorist state
UPDATE (2022-11-23): European Parliament declares Russia to be a state sponsor of terrorism
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The US is currently considering recognizing Russia as a state sponsoring terrorism. We believe the UK can lead by example and reach the correct conclusion here sooner, especially given that Russian actions classify it as terrorist organization, according to Proscription criteria in āProscribed terrorist groups or organisationsā from Home Office available at gov.uk.
From the link above:
Under the Terrorism Act 2000, the Home Secretary may proscribe an organisation if they believe it is concerned in terrorism, and it is proportionate to do. For the purposes of the Act, this means that the organisation:
- commits or participates in acts of terrorism
- prepares for terrorism
- promotes or encourages terrorism (including the unlawful glorification of terrorism)
- is otherwise concerned in terrorism
What is meant by āterrorismā in the proscription context?
āTerrorismā as defined in the Act, means the use or threat of action which:
- involves serious violence against a person;
- involves serious damage to property;
- endangers a personās life (other than that of the person committing the act);
- creates a serious risk to the health or safety of the public or section of the public or is designed seriously to interfere with or seriously to disrupt an electronic system
The use or threat of such action must be designed to influence the government or an international governmental organisation or to intimidate the public or a section of the public, and must be undertaken for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, racial or ideological cause.
Let’s walk through the actions by Russia that classify as terrorism, according to the criteria above. The list is non-exhaustive, and only provides a handful of examples among many acts of terrorism by Russia in the last months.
| Acts that the UK classifies as terrorism | Acts taken by Russia so far |
|---|---|
| involves serious violence against a person | Russian soldiers caught on camera killing Ukrainian civilians - BBC News Youtube |
| involves serious damage to property | An extensive investigation by Associated Press has concluded that Russian military forces committed a war crime when they struck the Mariupol drama theatre in Ukraine in March, killing at least dozen people and likely many more. Source: Associated Press |
| endangers a personās life (other than that of the person committing the act) | There are many, but one example that feels especially relevant to the UK is the poisoning of the Scripals family in the city of Salisbury, England. The British government accused Russia of attempted murder. Source: Reuters and Wikipedia |
| creates a serious risk to the health or safety of the public | Russia hit the shopping mall in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, and evidence shows that the civilian target was chosen intentionally. According to the Ukrainian government, there were more than 1000 people in. Source: Bellingcat investigation |
| is designed seriously to interfere with or seriously to disrupt an electronic system | Russian hacker group says cyber attacks continue on Lithuania Source: Reuters |
| The use or threat of such action must be designed to influence the government or an international governmental organisation or to intimidate the public or a section of the public, and must be undertaken for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, racial or ideological cause. | Russia is clearly trying to intimidate Ukrainian people with consistent strikes on residential buildings, and to influence the Ukrainian government to surrender. |
From the above, itās clear that Russian actions classify as terrorism. And committing acts of terrorism falls under the first criteria for recognizing an entity as a terrorist organization.
We ask you to consider in Parlament the proscription of Russia as a terrorist state, as well as working with UN representatives in the UK to expel Russia from United Nations, as they show little unity in their actions, and they just donāt belong there.
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