Júlio Pereira and the terrorist threat | ‘Security measures are only legitimate if they amplify our space of freedom’

Júlio Pereira (right)

The legal challenges posed by the eruption of new forms of terrorism were the main focus of a talk by Júlio Pereira this week at the Foundation Rui Cunha.
A former assistant to Macau’s first corruption commissioner, Pereira has been the Secretary-General of the Intelligence System of the Portuguese Republic for the past 11 years. He is fluent in Chinese and is considered a specialist in mainland Chinese criminal law, and has written books and academic papers on the subject.
Speaking to a packed auditorium, Pereira commented on the difference between the recent wave of terrorist actions and the ones occurring in the second half of the 20th century, when terrorist groups like the Irish Republican Army or ETA in the Basque Country sought recognition as political groups.
“The jihadist terrorism is not searching for any kind of recognition. […] It is mega-terrorism that tries to inflict the maximum number of casualties, evoking religious motives,” Pereira said, adding that the outlook on the terrorist threat is bleak.
According to the magistrate, the world can expect more terrorist attacks, especially given the turmoil in the Middle East following the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the problem of Islamic communities in Europe.
Bearing in mind the complexity of the issues involved, Pereira said that the first step to containing terrorism relates to the question: is it an internal security threat or a defense matter? “The U.S. was the first to give an answer to that question: it is impossible to stop the attacks without sticking to the territories where the Islamic state is based,” he said.
Countries have been trying to adapt to the terrorist threat by changing their penal codes and considering “preparatory acts to terrorism” as “autonomous crimes”. However, Pereira noted, singling out such acts poses challenges, for example in cases where ‘attempted travel’ to join a terrorist organization or consulting websites that promote terrorism may be considered crimes.
“Criminal law is essentially reactive. But in matters related to terrorism, criminal law must prevent crimes. […] How do we bypass this? Some people argue that the criminal law should be preventive. By criminalizing preparatory acts, the law is treading in that direction but by doing that we risk an excessive judicialization of internal security issues,” the expert argued.
In a message that could summarize his lecture at the Rui Cunha Foundation, Júlio Pereira argued that “security measures are only legitimate if they amplify our space of freedom.” He used the metaphor of a man that likes to go out at night but stops doing so because he knows that there is a big risk that he is going to be robbed. “Hence, in practical terms, he loses the liberty to go out at night that he had previously had,” Pereira said.

‘scarce risk’ of terrorism in macau

A report by Hong Kong-based risk consultancy Steve Vickers and Associates indicated that although the risk of a terrorist attack occurring in Macau remained low, the territory presented itself as “an attractive target, given the nexus of Chinese, American and Jewish interests in the gaming sector.” Asked about the Vickers report, Júlio Pereira said: “If we do a risk assessment based on the origins of the terrorists, we may say that the risk is scarce.”