Two young people attempted to set fire to a synagogue in Brno last January using an improvised device, senior police officer Bretislav Brejcha told reporters today. The police uncovered the case while investigating a group spreading extremist content on social media and promoting terrorist organisations.
The group members operated from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria and the United Kingdom, said Brejcha, the director of the National Centre for Counter-Terrorism, Extremism and Cybercrime (NCTEKK).
Criminal investigators have arrested five people and charged two of them.
Brejcha did not rule out further charges after the evaluation of extensive electronic evidence. He noted that most of the suspects are under 18, and some children under 15 were also involved.
Police are also investigating whether the group was planning a larger terrorist attack. They were found in possession of cold weapons, gas pistols and military equipment.
The group of five young people, who were arrested in cooperation with the counterintelligence service during an international operation dubbed MERDA, were promoting Islamic State and other terrorist groups on social media, spreading hatred against the LGBT+ community, Jews and other minorities, Michal Koudelka, the chief of the Security Information Service (BIS), told journalists today.
Koudelka said the suspects did not know each other beforehand, were linked by a fascination with violence and radicalised very quickly on the Internet, where they first searched for videos and texts with such content.
“They had no connection to the Muslim community in the Czech Republic and succumbed to the ideology of the Islamic State on the Internet,” Koudelka said. He added that the radicalisation of young people on Tik-Tok, Instagram and Telegram is a serious problem facing not only the Czech Republic but also other European countries.
In addition, police said one of the suspects was recruiting people to take part in the fighting in Syria. Those who are being manipulated and recruited through social media should realise that their recruiters regard them just as material and useful idiots, Koudelka said. He urged those involved to contact the police or BIS.
