POLAND: Polish prosecutors say a suspect they have in custody was planning an attack on parliament and high officials and that he had assembled an arsenal of explosives

Record ID: 357559

  • Title: POLAND: Polish prosecutors say a suspect they have in custody was planning an attack on parliament and high officials and that he had assembled an arsenal of explosives
  • Date: 20th November 2012
  • Summary: WARSAW, POLAND (NOVEMBER 20, 2012) (REUTERS) JOURNALISTS
  • Embargoed: 5th December 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Poland
  • Country: Poland
  • Topics: Crime,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVABYPQRSYBX961UD1BOAD9NOVVT
  • Story Text: Polish officials said on Tuesday (November 20) they had arrested a radical nationalist who planned to detonate a vehicle loaded with four tonnes of explosives outside parliament, possibly when the president and prime minister were in the building.
    Polish television, citing sources close to the investigation, said the suspect planned to copy methods used by Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in bomb and gun attacks in Norway last year and said he was driven by far-right views.

    "The suspect made preparations to remove by force constitutional bodies of the Polish Republic: the president, government, parliament and made preparations to bring this plan into life that would lead to an event threatening the life and health of many people and property," prosecutor Piotr Krason told a news conference.

    "The prosecutor's office has issued a decision to present charges, arrest the suspect and search a number of locations in Poland," Krason added.
    A video recording taken from the suspect showed what prosecutors said was a test explosion he conducted, leaving a large crater in the ground.
    Prosecutors said the man, a scientist who works for a university in the southern city of Krakow, had assembled a small arsenal of explosive material, guns and remote-controlled detonators and was trying to recruit others to help him.

    "As a the result of the search, explosives have been found such as: hexogen, pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), TNT, gunpowder, which are materials that could be used for the attack planned by the suspect. Devices which could be used for constructing explosive charges were also found such as: fuses which could be connected to a mobile phone, radio triggers, remote controls for initiating an explosion, burning fuses, electrical wires, detonators, electric fuses, hexogen detonators," Krason said.
    Poland has no experience of militant violence in its modern history. Society is though deeply polarised between supporters of liberal values and those who believe the country is neglecting its Catholic roots and succumbing to foreign influence.
    Earlier this month, a rally in the capital, Warsaw, by right-wing nationalists turned violent, when youths in the crowd started throwing flares and stones at police.
    Earlier on Tuesday, prosecutors said they had initiated legal proceedings against the bomb plot suspect on November 5 and that Poland's Internal Security Agency would handle the case.
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