Switzerland investigating 11-year-old for Islamist social media posts: Reports
By AFP
September 6, 2024 09:34 PM
Swiss police are investigating an 11-year-old boy believed to have been radicalised by Islamic extremists -- the youngest person ever to be involved in such a case in Switzerland, media reported Friday.
Swiss broadcasters RTS and SRF reported that police in the southern Swiss canton of Wallis had questioned the boy in June.
He was questioned in connection with "racist and discriminatory content" posted on social media, they said, citing the cantonal juvenile court.
The child reportedly admitted to having had contact with people involved in extremist movements abroad.
The court had not identified the extremist movements in question, but RTS and SRF said they had obtained information indicating they were Islamist and Jihadist groups.
Prior to this case, Islamist extremist cases on record in Switzerland have never involved anyone younger than 14, the broadcasters reported.
Wallis authorities have reportedly opened a juvenile case against the child, whose nationality was not divulged.
The juvenile court had stressed that the level of radicalisation had yet to be established and that the boy enjoyed the presumption of innocence.