A 16-year-old Italian boy has been arrested for association with ISIS and for possessing “neo-Nazi and antisemitic content,” Italian Police announced.
The teenager, from the province of Como, was arrested in Grosseto, where he was on vacation with his family, on charges of participation in an association with the aim of international terrorism, as well as propaganda and incitement to commit crimes motivated by racial, ethnic, and religious discrimination.
The investigation was conducted by officers from the General Investigations and Special Operations Division anti-terrorism section in Milan (DIGOS), with the cooperation of the Como DIGOS and the Service for Combating Extremism and External Terrorism of the Central Directorate of the Prevention Police.
This was done in coordination with the Milan Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office.
The investigation began following a report from AISI (the Internal Intelligence and Security Agency) concerning a user who disseminated jihadist propaganda material linked to the terrorist organization ISIS through several profiles on a messaging platform.
Further investigation enabled police to trace those profiles back to the boy, who had previously never been flagged for associations with radical circles.
An unusual case of a minor with no previous extremist ties, with evidence that the teen allegedly expressed support for ISIS
This arrest therefore marks an unusual case of a minor with no previous extremist ties being detained for offenses related to international terrorism.
A subsequent personal and digital search by DIGOS revealed a large amount of material on Islamic State translated into different languages, propaganda videos, and images on training sessions, executions, and content of a supremacist, neo-Nazi, antisemitic nature.
They also found videos and conversations in which the teenager allegedly expressed his support for ISIS and stated that he had previously helped produce propaganda material for the terrorist organization.
A video in Russian was also found containing instructions on how to make an improvised explosive device using easily available materials.
“Another well-mannered and perfectly integrated ‘Italian’ boy of foreign origin,” said Deputy PM Matteo Salvini. “Ready to build bombs in the name of Islamist terrorism…”
The police did not publicly mention the boy’s ethnicity.