Federal Prosecutor Frédéric Van Leeuw is constantly on the alert for terrorism in Belgium, but is particularly concerned about “inspired terrorism,” such as online influence and radicalisation of people in front of their computer screens, he explained on Thursday to Sudpresse.
“What is holding our attention from now on is not structured terrorism as we know it,” Van Leeuw said. “In the future, we have a better chance to intercept and control that, especially since the original base, the physical Caliphate, has fallen. What worries us more is ‘inspired terrorism’, with people who become radicalized in front of their computers (…) Single individuals are harder to spot than structures.”
The Office of the Federal Prosecutor operates like a fire service, he explained. “We try to put out the fire. We need to make sure the fires no longer break out and that they are easier to put out. It requires resources (we have received them) but it also requires the grass in our society to be less dry and for fewer people to be radicalized,” he said.