US designates far-right 'Terrorgram' network as terrorist group, citing Turkey attack

Duvar English

The United States (U.S.) on Jan. 13  imposed sanctions on an extreme right-wing online network, designating the "Terrorgram" collective a terrorist group and accusing it of promoting violent white supremacy.

The U.S. State Department said in a statement that it had designated the group, which primarily operates on the Telegram social media site, and three of its leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.

The State Department said the group has motivated and facilitated attacks and attempted attacks by users, including a 2022 shooting outside an LGBTI+ bar in Slovakia, a planned attack in 2024 on energy facilities in New Jersey and an August knife attack at a mosque in Turkey.

"The group promotes violent white supremacism, solicits attacks on perceived adversaries, and provides guidance and instructional materials on tactics, methods, and targets for attacks, including on critical infrastructure and government officials," the State Department said.

The action freezes any of the group's U.S. assets and bars Americans from dealing with it.

The leaders targeted on Jan. 13 with sanctions were based in Brazil, Croatia and South Africa, according to the statement.

Telegram in a statement on Jan. 14 said, "Calls to violence have no place on Telegram's platform. Telegram's Moderators removed several channels that used variations of the 'Terrorgram' name when they were discovered years ago. Similar content is banned whenever it appears."

In September, U.S. prosecutors unveiled criminal charges against two alleged leaders of "Terrorgram", saying they used Telegram to solicit attacks on Black, Jewish, LGBTI+ people and immigrants with the aim of inciting a race war.

Britain in April said it would proscribe the Terrorgram collective as a terrorist organization, meaning it would become a criminal offense in the country to belong to or promote the group.

What happened in Turkey?

On Aug. 12, in Eskişehir province, a knife-wielding 18-year-old Arda Küçükyetim live-streamed himself stabbing civilians, injuring five people. The suspect, who was arrested and later detained on the same day, was found to possess equipment covered with Nazi symbols.

In a video shared by Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, items found on the Eskişehir attacker were displayed. The visual showed a helmet, tactical vest, an axe, and two knives. One of the knives bore the swastika, a symbol used by Nazi Germany during World War II, while the vest featured the "Black Sun," a symbol associated with neo-Nazis and far-right extremists.

The suspect had published a 16-page manifesto before the attack. In the document, potential attacks were categorized into different difficulty levels, akin to video games, with murders scored based on their severity. The manifesto also contained slurs against various ethnic groups and communities.

The manifesto praised infamous attackers, referring to them as "saints." Among those mentioned were Brenton Tarrant, who killed 51 people in the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks in New Zealand; Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 in a 2011 Norway youth camp shooting; Stephen Paddock, who killed 60 people in the 2017 Las Vegas shooting; and Timothy McVeigh, responsible for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people.

Küçükyetim is facing charges of "attempted premeditated murder," carrying a sentence of up to 100 years in prison, and "threatening to create fear and panic among the public," which could result in an additional eight years.

The indictment included findings that he conducted internet searches such as "how many years is the sentence for murder" and "how to make a bomb in your mother's kitchen." A police report also verified that Küçükyetim had been scoring planned murders and injuries as if they were part of a video game.

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