An investigation against three people into a planned terrorist attack was carried out by the Polish Internal Security Agency (ABW) and the department for organized crime and corruption of the Prosecutor’s Office in Szczecin in the northwest of Poland. The result of the investigation was the filing of an indictment act on Dec. 17 against two persons. The charges concern “preparation for a crime relying on initiating a harmful event threatening the life or health of many people or massive amounts of property through explosive materials.” The attack was meant to be carried out against a particular site of Islamic worship.
The accused also planned to spread a poisonous substance among certain people. Authorities noted that the whole issue concerned “preventing the islamization of Poland”. Reports state that the accused expressed extremist far-right views. One of them publicly called for the extermination of religious groups, encouraged violence, crimes and hatred based on nationality, ethnicity, racial, and religious differences. The second accused was to have created a manifesto meant to be an expression of their anti-Islam views, as well as calling for the persecution of foreigners in Poland.
The two planned to urge Poles to start with acts of intimidation and escalate to the usage of firearms and explosives. Authorities believe that the manifesto was a modus operandi, like the one of by Andreas Breivik or Brenton Tarrant (the New Zealand Christchurch attacker). During the investigation, special services secured numerous explosives, four firearms, drug precursors, tools facilitating explosives and substances which can be elements of pyrotechnic mixtures. It was also revealed that one of the accused was responsible for creating firearms, ammunition and explosives. The accused face up to 10 years of imprisonment.
