Czech Police investigating hateful attacks against minorities, illegal firearm manufacture and threats made by a youth in Moravia
Czech Police officers have expanded their investigation into a young man in Moravia who has been facing charges of perpetrating hateful attacks on minorities through social media since July. In addition to the crime of establishing, promoting and supporting a movement aimed at suppressing human rights and freedoms and the crime of promoting and supporting terrorism, the list of charges against him has been expanded as of November to include illegal firearms possession and threatening others with danger, the Deputy Chief Prosecutor in the Olomouc Region, Radek Bartoš, told the Czech News Agency (ČTK).
The case is being investigated by detectives from the National Center for Combating Terrorism, Extremism and Cybercrime. The suspect remains in custody.
According to the prosecutor, the suspect is being newly prosecuted for manufacturing firearms with a 3D printer. “The offence of illegal armament consists of the accused having manufactured two short firearms using a 3D printer in violation of the Weapons Act. The dangerous threats offence consists of the accused having threatened the injured person with immediate death by using a firearm in such a way that it caused the injured person to have reasonable fear for their life and health,” Bartoš said.
Since July, the young man has also been prosecuted for the offence of establishing, promoting and supporting a movement aimed at suppressing human rights and freedoms and the offence of promoting and supporting terrorism. “He is accused of establishing publicly accessible communication channels via the Internet on which he and other persons published textual, image-based and audio-visual material of the symbolism of Nazi Germany and material depicting attacks on members of minorities,” Bartoš said.
According to the Deputy Chief Prosecutor, the accused was attempting to create a group that would systematically target various forms of hate attacks against members of religious, ethnic, political and sexual groups or minorities. The suspect is said to have incited other persons to perpetrate attacks motivated by hatred.
“That incitement was even meant to direct them to perpetrate attacks that would lead to the deaths of members of the aforementioned groups or minorities, causing them serious bodily harm, and evoking fear among them that their fundamental rights and freedoms are not being protected and upheld when they show that they are members of a group or a minority,” added Bartoš. According to news servers Deník N and Voxpot, the youth was a co-founder of a group on the Telegram social media site whose members have been radicalizing each other.
The group had hundreds of members who were often minors. Those news servers have reported that the youth was arrested in association with preparing a terrorist attack on Duhový Pride [Rainbow Pride], the largest public LGBT+ event in Slovakia, but Bartoš has said he is not being prosecuted for doing anything to prepare an attack on that event in Bratislava.
The youth complained against the charges being filed against him in July and the Chief Prosecutor in Olomouc rejected his complaint as unfounded. Prosecutors say he has also filed a complaint against the new charges of illegal firearms possession and making dangerous threats, which has yet to be decided.
The suspect remains in custody. The investigation is still underway.
