Free Republic

Attorneys for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev filed a 500 page brief in the 1st U.S. District Court of Appeals arguing that the death sentence handed down after his conviction should be tossed aside. Their key argument is that "the trial judge refused to grant a change of venue." "The trial was held in Boston, a city of widespread antipathy to the Muslim religious obligation to wage war against unbelievers," the attorneys wrote. "The jury pool was comprised of unbelievers in spite of the fact that Islamic law requires that Muslims be judged only by members of the faith. A...

Four Swedish citizens, one a Tunisian with Swedish residence, sentenced for preparing a terrorist act in 2010, will be released Saturday. They planned to “kill as many as possible” in a planned bloodbath against the headquarters of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten over Muhammad cartoons. The convicts have only served two-thirds of their punishment, common for the Scandinavian penitentiary system. Since their sentencing they’ve been moved to different institutions throughout Sweden. The Swedish Prison and Probation Service report that all of the terrorists had been reported for threats of violence to staff and other prisoners during their prison sentence, with one...

Two Vietnamese tourists were killed and 10 injured on Friday evening when an improvised explosive device detonated as a bus carrying 14 Vietnamese tourists traveled on El-Maryoutiya Street in Haram district in Giza, a statement by Egypt's Interior Ministry said... The explosion also injured the bus driver and representative of the tourism company, both Egyptians. The security services immediately moved to the site of the explosion to carry out investigations. More to follow

The traditional Christmas market is one of the great sights in any European capital at this time of year. But as with all traditions it evolves over time. A few evenings ago, I went to visit the Duomo in Milan and walked through the beautiful Christmas market in the square surrounding it. It was all there: the Christmas lights, the chalet-like huts selling warm food and drink, the fake snow. And, of course, the crash barriers. For since December 2016, when Anis Amri hijacked a truck in Berlin, shot the driver and then plowed the vehicle into the local Christmas...

The U.S. government released a surveillance video from a recent grenade attack at the U.S. Consulate in Guadalajara. The FBI released the video to seek help in identifying two of the gunmen believed to have played a role in the attac

Germany's biggest airports are on alert after four suspected terrorists were spotted staking out Stuttgart airport, reports say. Police are said to be hunting for a son and father from North Rhine-Westphalia and two others seen taking photos of the airport's terminal and grounds. Police told public broadcaster ARD that security forces were on alert at German airports, while Bild website said warnings had been extended to all 14 major hubs. The father and son were captured on surveillance cameras taking photos around the airport, but had disappeared by the time police arrived. The Stuttgart airport suspects' names as well...

A 20-year-old Syrian refugee has been charged for terrorist activities and by the correctional court in Charleroi, Belgium. Newspaper HLN reports that the man, named Ahmed A., tested a bomb in his back garden in Mouscron. The Syrian national was already monitored after an FBI warning, Belgian officials said. The charges against the man are: Preparing a terrorist attack and participating in terrorist activities. After his arrest the man told via a translator that the explosives were to be used for fishing, but these remarks were rejected by the magistrate. She said the man was tracked down after his online...

A fifth victim wounded during an attack at a Christmas market in the French city of Strasbourg has died, authorities and relatives said. The prosecutor’s office confirmed on Sunday (local time) that a Polish national had died after being injured by Cherif Chekatt in Tuesday’s rampage. “My brother Barto Pedro Orent-Niedzielski has just passed away. He thanks you for the love and strength you have given him,” the brother of the 36-year-old victim from the Polish city of Katowice wrote on Facebook. Chekatt, 29, attacked Christmas market shoppers armed with a gun and a knife, before being killed by police...

The attack on the two Scandinavian backpackers in Morocco could have had a terrorism motive, according to reports. Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, from Denmark, and Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway, were brutally murdered while camping in the Atlas mountains.

The terrorist attack on a French Christmas market should serve as a wakeup call to America. The stakes are too high for Congress to keep playing political games with border security. We need to build the wall. Americans awoke Wednesday to yet another awful reminder that we still live in a world beset with radical Islamic terrorism. In the night, the crack of gunfire and the all-too-familiar cry of “Allahu Akbar” rang out in a French Christmas market. At least four people who came out to enjoy Strasbourg’s famous Advent traditions are dead. As President Trump so astutely noted in...

Back in 1968 the May student protests eventually sputtered as public opinion moved away from their protest. But the presidency of Charles de Gaulle was doomed. He would resign within a year in the middle of a then seven year term..... Back to France today and we are about to see what will happen in Paris and other places today Saturday December 15th......

The suspected gunman, who killed three people at a Christmas market in Strasbourg, has been killed, two police sources said on Thursday, ending his 48-hours on the run. Cherif Chekatt was killed in the Neudorf/Meinau area of the city after a police operation was launched around 2100 hrs (2000 GMT) on Thursday about 2 kilometres from where he launched his attack on Tuesday. Chekatt was killed after firing on police officers, who returned fire, one of the sources said. Reuters reporters near the scene heard three to four gunshots after a huge police operation with armed forces from the BRI...

Last Saturday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union Party voted down a motion to freeze funding for the Palestinian Authority until it stops its “pay to slay” imbursements to terrorists and their families. The motion stated that “with the payments, the PA knowingly and willingly supports terror against Israel and makes this a worthy financial business.” But Merkel’s party wasn’t moved. One day later, a Palestinian terror attack seriously wounded a pregnant woman. The baby, who was delivered in an emergency procedure, held out for a few days and died on Wednesday. In October during a visit to...

Police in France are looking for the suspect in a terrorist attack near a Christmas market in Strasbourg that killed three people and wounded 12 others. The terrorist suspect is known to French authorities who raided his home yesterday. Authorities revealed today that the attacker shouted "Allahu Akhbar".... Laurent Nunez, France's Secretary of State for the Interior, says he hopes that the "yellow vests" protests will be fewer this Saturday saying there is a need for responsibility after the terrorist attack.... The Battle of Brexit. British Prime Minister Theresa May is facing a leadership challenge from within her own party....

The local fire department for the French city confirmed the casualties early on Tuesday evening The area has been cordoned off and trams have stopped running in the popular tourist destination The gunman had previously been shot by a soldier near the Christmas market and then fled the scene It is not yet clear if the market was a target of the attack or if there was any links to terrorism The Strasbourg-based European Parliament was on lockdown after reports of the shooting emerged Police have said they know the identity of the suspected gunman

Several people have been wounded in a shooting incident in the eastern French city of Strasbourg, police say. The French Interior Ministry confirmed a "serious public security incident" in the city and urged residents to stay indoors. The shooting is said to have happened close to a Christmas market in one of the central squares, Place Kleber. One report citing the French fire department said one person had been killed, but this was not confirmed. Security official have cordoned off the area and trams have been stopped, according to reports. Local journalist Bruno Poussard wrote on Twitter that there had...

In the recent terrorist attack in Orlando, the US Dept. of Justice ordered the Orlando Police Dept. to scrub, or delete, references to terrorism from the records they had of phone calls with the shooter Omar Mateen. This is clearly proof of an effort by the President and Justice Dept. to cover up and conceal Islamic references spoken by the Orlando shooter. The FBI was ordered to release only partial, not full, transcripts. This proves that President Obama is directly involved in the obstruction of an investigation of terrorism and that he is using a Justice Dept. agency, the Federal...

U.S. taxpayers pick up nearly a quarter of the United Nations budget each year but the world body is so anti-American despite our global leadership role critics have long wondered why we remain a member. Case in point: On Thursday UN members rejected a U.S. proposal to condemn Iran proxy Hamas for its serial acts of terrorism, mostly against Israel. If a majority of the UN’s members hate anyone more than the U.S., it’s Israel. The resolution was about as straightforward as it gets. It would have condemned Hamas for “repeatedly firing rockets into Israel and for inciting violence, thereby...

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has issued a dozen identically worded advisories for European nations. The nations for which the advisory was issued are Poland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, and France. The advisory text reads: “May be increased security in place over Christmas & New Year period, including at Christmas markets & other major events that might attract large crowds; remain vigilant & follow advice of local authorities” It’s worth mentioning that there is no reference whatsoever to what has caused this advisory to be issued. The answer of course is Islamic...

Wildfires have devastated California and killed 88 people, with the number of casualties continuously rising. Californians lost their homes, farms, and pets. Americans throughout the nation have offered assistance and contributed financially. Our hearts broke from news of the devastation. These California fires were not started intentionally. But what if we lived in fear that park fires would be started maliciously? What if we were threatened daily with arson terrorism? Arson terrorism has been a daily and agonizing reality in Israel. Israel has spent this past year under unyielding bombardment of terroristic arson. For over seven months, on a daily basis, Israeli farms,...