Terrorists on Trial

From 2011 - 2013, ICCT conducted the “Terrorists on Trial” Research Project, which focused on the performative and communicative aspects of a terrorist trial. The project consisted of a series of seminars analysing different terrorist trials. The Series build upon the work of Prof. Dr. Beatrice de Graaf, and the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIAS) Research Theme Group “Terrorists on Trial. The Court Room as a Stage in the Struggle for Publicity, Public Support and Legitimacy”.

Highlights

Terrorists on Trial: The Case of Anders Behring Breivik April 11, 2013

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The fifth seminar discussed the case of Anders Behring Breivik, the perpetrator behind the 22 July 2011 attacks in Norway. Speakers included Research Fellows Liesbeth van der Heide and Daan Weggemans, as well as Tore Bjørgo and Cato Hemingby (both from the Norwegian Police Academy).

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Terrorists on Trial: The Case of the "20th Hijacker" January 25, 2012

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This seminar focused on Zacarias Moussaoui, often referred to as the 20th hijacker, who was convicted of conspiring to kill US citizens as part of the 9/11 attacks. The panel included Judge Leonie Brinkema who presided over Moussaoui’s trial.

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Terrorists on Trial: The Case of Zarema Muzhakhtoyeva December 13, 2011

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This was the third meeting in the series and featured Ms. Natalja Evlapova (Zarema Muzhakhtoyeva’s lawyer and a specialist on the Chechen question), who reflected on the trial from the defence’s perspective.

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Terrorists on Trial: The Lockerbie Case November 23, 2011

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This seminar examined the Lockerbie case through its performative and communicative aspects. Speakers included Judge Howard Morrison (Judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia), Mr. Paul McBride QC (Senior Counsel at Black Chambers) and Mr. Ian Ferguson an Investigative Journalist who has followed the case for over two decades.

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Terrorism Trials as Theatre: A Performative Perspective March 30, 2011

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On 30 March 2011, ICCT – The Hague organised an Expert Meeting entitled ‘Terrorism Trials as Theatre: A Performative Perspective’. The Expert Meeting applied a performative perspective to three well known and recent trials in different parts of the world: the trials against the Dutch Hofstad Group, the Mumbai 2008 Terrorist Attack Trial and the Guantanamo Military Tribunals. As such, the Expert Meeting did not concentrate solely on the immediate judicial performance of the magistrates and/or the defence; instead, the trials were put in their wider sociological context.

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Terrorists on Trial: A Performative Perspective 2011

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The Paper 'Terrorists on Trial: A Performative Perspective' was written in advance of the opening Terrorists on Trials seminar and was later updated to reflect the discussion during the meeting. The Paper applies a performative perspective to three well known and recent trials in different parts of the world: the trials against the Dutch Hofstad Group, the Mumbai 2008 Terrorist Attack Trial, and the Guantanamo Military Tribunals.

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Terrorists on Trial: Blog

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Prof. Dr. Beatrice de Graaf and a number of her colleagues travelled to Norway in August 2012 for the Anders Behring Breivik trial, where the team conducted research and interviews relating to the case.

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About the project

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The series of expert meetings organised by ICCT aimed to apply a performative perspective to terrorism trials. As such, they did not solely concentrating on the immediate judicial performance of the magistrates and/or the defence, but putting trials in their wider sociological context, adopting notions of social drama and communication sciences.