This is a podcast about some of the most spectacular terrorist attacks in history. In this podcast, I tell the stories of the terrorists, their victims and the consequences for the survivors and society. About people who will sacrifice their own lives or the lives of others for a political, economic, religious or social goal. Who was behind it, who did they want to hit, and why. My name is Natasja, and I am a journalist with a Master's in Middle Eastern Studies. Unfortunately, I have experienced terror in my life several times. The massacre in Utøya in Norway happened half an hour's drive from where some of my immediate family lives. A good friend of mine was only a meter away from one of the suicide bombers on the London Underground in 2005. He miraculously escaped with two burst eardrums. Finally, I worked in Afghanistan some time ago, where a major terrorist attack on a local cafe claimed the lives of 21 people. Among other things, the owner, who had served me a layer cake on my birthday the year before. Fortunately, I have never been in the middle of a terrorist attack myself...
https://terrortalksinternational.buzzsprout.com
episode 6: A second chance
US District Court Judge Raymond Dearie sat behind the raised judge’s table in the Eastern District of New York. The 74-year-old former prosecutor looked down at the case file before him and then raised his gaze, which he directed at a dark-haired, South Asian-looking man in his early 30s. So said the judge
“Is this the same Mr Zazi I saw many years ago?”
The judge almost rhetorically answered his own questions.
“All indications are, it is not”
The story of Najibullah Zazi is the story that terrorist attacks, fortunately, did not always succeed. But it is also a perhaps relatively rare story of a radicalised person who later sincerely regretted his actions and contributed to putting other terrorists behind bars. Many terrorists are willing to die for their cause, even if they fail to carry out their terrible plans. So although this is the story of an attack that was fortunately prevented in time, it also gives an insight into how a radicalisation process can take place, described and reflected on by the perpetrator himself.
Sources:
https://ged.com/blog/whats-the-difference-between-the-ged-and-a-high-school-diploma/?lang=en
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/01/us/najibullah-zazi-new-york-subway-bomb-plot-sentencing/index.html
https://www.huffpost.com/archive/in/entry/10-times-islamic-preacher-zakir-naik-proved-that-he-promoted-a_n_10851550
https://web.archive.org/web/20120301022935/http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/US_v_NajibullahZazi_complaint.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Najibullah_Zazi
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/01/us/najibullah-zazi-new-york-subway-bomb-plot-sentencing/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/02/nyregion/terror-defendant-convicted-in-plot-to-bomb-new-york-subways.html?searchResultPosition=60
Music used in this episode:
Dramatic Suspense: https://pixabay.com/music/suspense-dramatic-suspense-116798/ by https://pixabay.com/users/ashot-danielyan-composer-27049680/
Anuch – Our champion - Music from #Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/anuch/our-champion
Shehure By: lynnepublishing: https://www.pond5.com/royalty-free-music/item/48260489-shehure-ethnic-middle-eastern-exotic-adventure-myth-emotiona
Jihad By: lynnepublishing: https://www.pond5.com/royalty-free-music/item/58959655-jihad-middle-eastern-arabic-tribal-dark-powerful-tense-war-c
Baraat In Style | Pro Clips By: PROCLIPS: https://www.pond5.com/royalty-free-music/item/63434870-baraat-style-pro-clips
See pictures from today's story and follow me on: TerrorTalks on Facebook and TerrorTalks on Instagram