Libyan authorities trained on tackling online activities of terrorist targets

With abuse of the Internet and social media channels by terrorist organizations a growing concern for police, INTERPOL said it has conducted a training course for Libyan law enforcement officers on how best to exploit the Internet and specific social media sites in counter-terrorism investigations.

Held in Tunisia from January 20 to 24, the course was attended by 20 law enforcement professionals from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and General Investigation Department (GID) in Tripoli, Libya.

Terrorists use the Internet and social media channels for radicalization, recruitment, funding, planning and execution of terror activities, making it vital for law enforcement to collect, analyse and share data gathered from online sources, INTERPOL noted.

The course provided participants with recommendations on how to employ intelligence techniques to leverage online resources in compliance with human rights, the Libyan data protection mechanism, and international privacy and data protection standards.

Focused on boosting the operational and analytical skills of Libyan law enforcement officers, the course is part of ongoing cooperation between INTERPOL and Libya in this domain, which includes the provision of technical equipment.

At least three of the best-performing participants will be selected for further training and to take on additional responsibilities, in order to fully embed these investigation techniques into Libya’s counter-terrorism activities.

Supporting the implementation of INTERPOL’s Global Counter-terrorism Strategy, this initiative was funded by the Canadian Government (Global Affairs Canada) and attended by a representative from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Source: Eurasia Review