AUTHORITIES in Estonia have tracked and captured the leader of a far-right terrorist group, who turned out to be a 13-year-old boy.
Investigators arrested the young leader of the “Feuerkrieg Division” (FDK), or “fire war division”, an online group with members spread across Belgium, the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Latvia, Germany, Russia, the US, and Canada.
The teenager operated online under the names “commander” or “kriegsherr” (“warlord” in German) on encrypted online forums, and was responsible for the recruitment and admission of new members.
READ MORE: Taliban blamed as ‘insider’ attack kills 17 at Afghan base
He also shared bomb-making instructions, spoke about planning an attack on London, and suggested organizing military training camps in February to commemorate the “100th birthday” of Adolf Hitler’s former political party, the NSDAP.
Due to the suspect’s age, he cannot be prosecuted in Estonia or named in the international press. Instead, authorities will have to seek other legal measures to protect him from himself and others.
According to the US-based NGO the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) the FKD was established in October 2018 in the Baltics. From there it grew to be active worldwide and had, until recently, some 70 members in 15 countries.
The FKD was heavily influenced by the Atomwaffen Division (“Atomic Weapon Division” in German), a neo-Nazi group allegedly tied to five murders across the US.
The “FKD advocates similar core beliefs, racist and vitriolic propaganda with shared graphics and general subculture. While the bulk of their activity is online, members have engaged in leafleting efforts, distributing violent, racist and antisemitic propaganda,” according to the ADL.
As recently as October the group wrote a series of tenets such as “we are not afraid to die and we kill anyone who gets in our way”. FDK announced its dissolution on February 8, though authorities found internal chats indicating they would continue under a new name.
The administration and management of the FKD was all conducted online, enabling the Estonian ringleader to hide his identity, including his real age. Ironically, the “commander” set the minimum age for recruits at 16, while he himself was three years under that limit. “The members of the organisation were, of course, unaware of this fact,” wrote the Eesti Ekspress, the Estonian paper which broke the story.
READ MORE: How the Kurds of north-east Syria ended up branded 'terrorists'
Alar Ridamae, a representative of the Estonian Internal Security Police (KAPO), told that paper: “Internet radicalisation is a wider societal problem and indeed a global phenomenon that we are working with international partners to tackle.
“People with similar extremist views communicate with each other internationally, and KAPO is aware of it.”
Ridamae added that the security service was verifying the allegations about the participation of Estonians in the online discussions of extremists.
“When there is a suspicion of danger, we intervene to prevent things from getting worse, which is what we were doing in this case,” he said, referring to the 13-year-old FDK ringleader.
He added that children and young people are especially at risk from online radicalisation, as they are more vulnerable than adults.
Scotland is in lockdown. Shops are closing and newspaper sales are falling fast. It’s no exaggeration to say that the future of The National is at stake. Please consider supporting us through this with a digital subscription from just £2 for 2 months by following this link: http://www.thenational.scot/subscribe. Thanks – and stay safe.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel