Hundreds of schools paralysed by a bomb threat sent from an alleged Russian email

On Tuesday, hundreds of schools, banks and electronics shops in Slovakia received bomb threats by e-mail.

As per the police report, a total of 1,323 bomb threats were reported in schools, 110 in banks (VÚB) and 40 in electronics shops (Nay) by 15:00.

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“The extent of bomb threats is staggering,” the police underscored.

Bomb threats reported by schoolsBratislava Region: 110 Trenčín Region: 148 Nitra Region: 232 Banská Bystrica Region: 94 Žilina Region: 228 Trnava Region: 119 Prešov Region: 176 Košice Region: 216

Source: Slovak police

The anonymous email mentioning the bomb threat, which is written in Slovak, is reputed to commend Islam.

“We’re in your country now,” reads the e-mail, as quoted by TV Markíza.

The National Crime Agency (NAKA) has taken over the case and begun to prosecute an unknown perpetrator - for now - for terrorism. A person who is convicted of terrorism can spend 20-25 years in prison or get a life sentence.

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“It is depraved to threaten schools with bombs, even if it were from fun,” said Education Minister Tomáš Drucker.

More than 120 schools in the Bratislava Region received a similar email last Friday. The email from last week mentioned Alah and Sharia law, but also mentioned explosives in lorries.

Both emails are alleged to have been sent from a Russian email address, given that they ended with “.ru.”

“Despite the fact that the number of such crimes has been increasing over the past period, the police do not underestimate any report and pay sufficient attention to it,” the Interior Ministry said.

Last year, similar incidents were also reported in Lithuania and Estonia. In 2019, around 700 Polish schools were targeted by hoax bomb threats during the exam period. RMF 24, a Polish radio station, reported in 2020 that the authors of the entire 2019 operation were people logged in to accounts used by the GRU - Russian military intelligence.