Officers from Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) detained student Mateusz W., who was allegedly planning a terrorist attack at a Christmas market, on Nov. 30, with social media already abuzz about how a Polish student at a Catholic university could be involved in an Islamist-motivated attack.
“The Szczecin branch of the ABW is conducting an investigation into this matter under the supervision of the Szczecin branch of the Police Headquarters,” Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesman for the Special Services Coordinator, posted on X.
The man was remanded into custody for three months. The National Prosecutor’s Office reported that searches of premises in the Łódź and Lublin Voivodeships were also conducted, during which data storage devices and items related to the Islamic religion, which could constitute evidence, were seized.
“After receiving information from the court about his temporary arrest, his student rights were immediately suspended,” Wojciech Andrusiewicz, spokesman for the Catholic University of Lublin, said in a press briefing, reports wPolityce.
Confederation co-leader Krzysztof Bosak noted the case shows that even as the West loses its religion, Christianity, other religions are racing to fill the gap.
“A phenomenon begins that is known in Western countries: the local population’s conversion to Islam and radicalization in opposition to their own culture, which—in the perspective of the converts—has lost its value and appeal. This is a simple consequence of the spiritual crisis consuming the West. Man needs culture and needs religion,” wrote Bosak on X.
“The negation of Polishness and Christianity creates a group of people susceptible to all kinds of external influences: from foreign fashions, customs, and cults to radical ideologies and religious fundamentalism. Emptiness and lack of meaning hurt, and man seeks answers to his pain in the most harmful places. To avoid such problems, we need a renewal of faith, a true evangelical radicalism in the good Catholic sense,” he continued.
On X, Dobrzyński provided further details about the case, writing:
“Officers of the Internal Security Agency detained Mateusz W., a student at the Catholic University of Lublin, suspected of preparing a mass attack at one of the Christmas markets, which he planned to carry out using explosive materials. Earlier, the man had been acquiring knowledge about methods of independently producing materials that were to be used to carry out a terrorist act. He also planned to join a terrorist organization to obtain assistance in implementing the intended actions. The purpose of the crime was to intimidate many people, as well as to support the Islamic State.”
According to the National Prosecutor’s Office, Mateusz W. has been charged with preparatory actions to carry out a terrorist attack that could have resulted in the death or serious injury of many people.
