Parents on the note: the UK called signs of involvement of adolescents in illegal activities

In the context of information overload, adolescents are not always able to distinguish the call for justice from the call for violence. This opinion was expressed today, November 10, at a press conference in the press center of the House of Press by the official representative of the Investigative Committee Alexander Sukhodolsky. It's reported by sb.by.

Terrorism and extremism do not arise suddenly. It all begins with an idea, with the constant narrowing of the horizons of a teenager, with the depreciation of human lives by him. That is why prevention should begin long before a teenager is at risk, says Alexander Sukhodolsky:

- There are several key areas of prevention. First of all, it is the family, which remains the main institution of education. Parents should talk to the child not only about school grades, but also about the state of things in the world, showing their respect for the law. Thus, the younger generation forms a certain worldview, a tolerant attitude towards people. No less important work on prevention lies in the school and the education system, because it is there that the civic position of the student is formed. It should not be reduced to one-time lectures, it is important to develop critical thinking and media literacy, the ability to analyze information and recognize manipulation.

Today, a significant portion of recruitment takes place online. This is evidenced by the materials of real criminal cases. That is why so much attention is paid to law enforcement and government agencies blocking insecure content. However, when a teenager learns to ask the right questions for himself – who says why, what the allegations are based on – then he will become much less vulnerable to involvement in illegal activities.

Alexander Sukhodolsky gave several instructive examples. The 18-year-old recognized the recruitment in time and turned to the police himself, reporting an attempt to persuade him to commit a terrorist attack on the railway. Or here is another example, the finale of which is more sad, the case of extremist groups in Mozyr. There, minors rallied around Nazi ideology, conducted propaganda on Telegram and even attacked people. Teenagers from another cell who planned to commit a particularly serious terrorist crime have already received their sentences of 10 to 15 years in prison.

Commenting on such cases, the official representative of the Investigative Committee Alexander Sukhodolsky listed the signs that should alert parents in the behavior of their child:

- Abrupt changes in the circle of contacts. The teenager may stop communicating with former friends or relatives. He has a new social circle, often online. The secrecy increases, the teenager deletes correspondence, changes passwords, hides the phone and gets annoyed when asked about new acquaintances. With regard to involvement in terrorist and extremist activities, there are still clear changes in the worldview, for example, the depreciation of the lives of others. The Prosecutor General’s Office warned of criminal liability for a new form of revenge of teenagers to their enemies gorbatenko@sb.by