We now know the #ViennaAttack was carried out by a convicted terrorist, released early from prison.

He tricked the authorities by falsely complying, like other attackers:

2016 Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray
2016 Osny prison
2019 London Bridge

Some thoughts in this thread:

2/ In all these cases, the authorities believed the jihadists were model inmates, who were going to leave terrorism behind.

They had been through the deradicalisation schemes, and had openly said (and shown) they were changing their ways.

3/ Adel Kermiche, for example, told the judge:

"I am a Muslim who believes in mercy, in doing good, I’m not an extremist… I want to get back my life, see my friends, get married"

The judge released him in 2016, and 4 months later he killed a priest in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray.

4/ The idea of hiding their true intentions is to be expected.

It's not unique to jihadists, of course (all types of criminals do it), and it would be a mistake to say Muslim prisoners are exceptional in this regard because of "taqiyya" (a mostly Shia concept of dissimulation).

5/ Seeing it as "taqiyya" obviously creates a dangerous conundrum, which can only satisfy your worst expectations:

Either you see signs of their radicalisation, confirming your suspicions, or you *don't* see signs of radicalisation, *also* confirming your suspicions

6/ What is instead needed is close monitoring, in a safe prison that is properly funded, with well-trained staff who are able to build rapport and actual relationships with inmates.

It may seem obvious, but many prison services in developed countries don't have these conditions.

7/ In those conditions, where there are regular assessments, made by multiple, experienced staff, with a comprehensive flow of intelligence, most cases of false compliance will be spotted.

8/ There are always going to be disciplined terrorists who could maintain the façade for months and years.

But cases like those are rare and exceptional (such as Usman Khan and the 2019 London Bridge attack), because it is difficult to trick people for so long.

9/ It's worth noting that in 2013, Austria had zero terrorist inmates in its prison service.

In March 2019 (when the Vienna attacker was convicted), it had 39 (2 women, 11 “young adults”) and 20 on pre-trial detention.

It has had to develop processes, and expertise, quickly.

END/ Countries across Europe are facing similar issues, and it really makes sense to learn from the success (and failures) of other countries.

With that said, me and @PeterRNeumann published an @ICSR_Centre report on this issue. You can read it here:

https://icsr.info/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ICSR-Report-Prisons-and-Terrorism-Extremist-Offender-Management-in-10-European-Countries_V2.pdf