Berliner Tageszeitung - Spain jails letterbomb suspect to avoid 'flight to Russia'

NYSE - LSE

RBGPF	0%	60.72	$
CMSC	0.04%	22.34	$
NGG	-0.33%	81.57	$
CMSD	0.27%	22.32	$
RIO	0.51%	105.89	$
BCE	-0.99%	24.04	$
BTI	-2.06%	61.06	$
GSK	-1.55%	52.23	$
RELX	-2.74%	32.84	$
AZN	-0.83%	177.27	$
BP	-2.86%	41.59	$
RYCEF	2.63%	17.5	$
VOD	-3.53%	15	$
BCC	0.63%	71.59	$
JRI	0.89%	12.78	$

Spain jails letterbomb suspect to avoid 'flight to Russia'

BOULEVARD 27.01.2023

The pensioner who allegedly sent letter bombs to Spain's prime minister and the Ukrainian embassy was placed in pre-trial detention on Friday on grounds he could flee to "Russian territory".

Text size:

The 74-year-old suspect, arrested Wednesday at his home near the northern town of Burgos, appeared before a judge at the Audiencia Nacional, Spain's top criminal court, facing one charge of terrorism, court documents showed.

He is accused of having sent six letter bombs to targets including Spanish ministers and embassies to push Madrid into halting its support for Kyiv in its fight against Russia's invasion.

The home-made devices were sent in late November and early December to Spain's prime minister and defence minister, the Ukrainian and US embassies, the EU Satellite Centre near Madrid and to a Spanish arms manufacturer in the northeastern city of Zaragoza.

In his ruling, the judge said the suspect sought to "force" the Spanish authorities to "refrain from supporting Ukraine in the face of Russia's aggression", which made him a flight risk.

"The importance of his violent actions as a means of propaganda for Russia's invasion of Ukraine could facilitate his flight to Russian territory with help from Russian citizens," he concluded.

If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in jail on terror offences.

But the judge said there were no indications of his involvement "with any other terrorist group".

Nobody was killed by the devices but a Ukrainian embassy staffer sustained light injuries while opening one of the packages.

At his home, investigators found a workshop containing soldering equipment, tools, metal parts and screws compatible with the letter bombs sent, and indications of preparatory work to construct more, the interior ministry said.

The suspect was "very active on social networks" and had "technical and computer expertise", it said.

Investigators had determined the letters were sent by the same person and found three of them were posted from Burgos, the ministry added. They then narrowed it down by an "exhaustive analysis" of the stamps, envelopes and parts used to build the devices.

After the embassy attack, Ukraine's Spain ambassador Serhii Pohoreltsev pointed the finger at Russia, and Kyiv ramped up security at its embassies around the world.

O. Joergensen--BTZ

Featured

Eight dead in fiery US bomber crash in California: military

Eight people died when a US B-52 bomber crashed and erupted into a catastrophic fire shortly after takeoff at an air force base in California on Monday, officials said.

'They want to destroy us': Shock and anger as Russian attack sets Kyiv cathedral ablaze

Father Makariy, a high-ranking clergyman at Kyiv's Pechersk Lavra monastery complex, was woken at around 5:00 am with a huge roar -- the cathedral at the heart of one of Orthodox Christianity's most important sites had been set on fire in a Russian attack.

Burnt-out Indonesians beat the blues with children's games

Flushed and sweating, 31-year-old Annisa Enggracia Fidel runs back and forth to defend her fort from invaders -- hundreds of fellow adults all beating the blues by playing a nostalgic Indonesian children's game.

Greek fishermen struggle to keep up with pufferfish invaders

On his fishing boat moored in the Greek port of Ierapetra in southwestern Crete, Alexis Charlambakis pries open the mouth of a freshly-caught pufferfish to reveal two massive teeth on each jaw.