A student who “fell in love with terrorism” has been detained, suspected of « preparing a mass murder attack » at a European Christmas market. The student, named only by officials as Mateusz W., is believed to be attending the Catholic University of Lublin and wanted to commit an attack using explosives and planned to join a terrorist organisation, Jacek Dobrzynski, a spokesperson for Poland’s special services, said on Tuesday.
The student who is said to have become “deeply infatuated with Islam sought cooperation with the Islamic State », planned to bomb a Christmas market in Poland using explosives, police said. He prepared, gathered information on how to construct explosives, and his goal was to kill and intimidate Poles, » Mr Dobrzyński said at a press conference. According to the Internal Security Agency (ABW), on November 30, officers of the Internal Security Agency (ABW) conducted searches and detained the student.
The operations were carried out in the Łódź and Lublin provinces. During the search, data storage devices and items related to Islam were seised.
Mr Dobrzyński said in a press conferernce: « The man initially became deeply infatuated with Islam. He fell in love, or rather, with terrorism.
« He sought to establish contacts with the Islamic State, sought cooperation with the Islamic State, and was planning an attack on a Christmas market in Poland. He prepared, gathered information on how to construct explosives, and his goal was to kill and intimidate Poles.
« There are no Russian traces, at least for now. Rather, there are Islamic traces, indicating the Catholic University of Lublin student’s fondness for terrorism and a love of Islam. »
The prosecutor’s office charged the student with « undertaking preparatory actions to carry out a terrorist attack that could have resulted in the death or serious injury of many people. »
The city where the student was planning an attack has not been revealed.
« We will not name a specific city so as not to create panic. A similar threat could occur in any Polish city, in any European city. Citizen vigilance is crucial, but the actions of the Internal Security Agency officers, who once again prevented a tragedy, are also incredibly important. Their actions revealed preparations before anything even happened », said Mr Dobrzyński.
He added that the detained man is Polish and is a resident of the central part of the country.
Mr Dobrzyński wrote on X: « 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 organisation 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.
« During the conducted activities, ABW officers seised data storage devices and items related to Islam. By court decision, the man will spend the next three months in custody.
« The investigation in this case is being conducted by the Szczecin branch of ABW under the supervision of the Prokuratura Krajowa (National Prosecutor’s Office) local department in Szczecin. The case is developing in nature. »
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