According to Ceskenoviny, the Security and Information Service (BIS) reported that a Ukrainian detained on suspicion of sending threatening emails to educational institutions in the Czech Republic and Slovakia was also active in other European countries. Counterintelligence believes his actions were likely financed by a person from Russia.
A press release from the Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office in Prague clarifies that the Czech police classified the suspect’s actions as threats of committing a terrorist crime. Under Czech law, such acts carry a prison sentence of five to fifteen years.
Supervising prosecutor Jiří Richter said a joint investigative group has been formed, including law enforcement from the Czech Republic, Ukraine, and Slovakia. An investigation is ongoing in Ukraine, where the suspect was detained. He added that no additional information can be disclosed at this stage of the investigation.
On the morning of July 16, Slovak police reported searches conducted in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, during which computer and telecommunications equipment were seized. The report included a photo showing, among others, an officer from the Czech National Center for Combating Terrorism, Extremism, and Cybercrime (NCTEKK).
Czech counterintelligence confirmed the involvement of BIS and NCTEKK in the international operation. The special service noted the suspect sent threatening emails to hundreds of schools in the Czech Republic last year, and preliminary data suggests similar attacks occurred in other European countries. They emphasized that the suspect’s actions were likely financed from Russia.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský also confirmed that the attacks targeted a broader group of countries and stated the person behind them is probably linked to Russia. He expressed satisfaction with the Czech security forces’ participation in the operation and that the suspect can no longer intimidate the public.
At the start of the last school year, hundreds of schools in the Czech Republic and Slovakia received emails threatening bombs supposedly planted in the buildings. Police at the time assessed the threats as unlikely and urged the public not to spread them on social media. Slovak police classified the acts as terrorism, punishable by life imprisonment.
The latest annual BIS report notes the investigation linked the threats to the Russian-speaking environment. It also states that bomb messages were accompanied by coordinated information activity, with one Russian media outlet involved in the disinformation campaign.