Ping-pong with the authorities

Bomb threats: Switzerland is still waiting

Until Thursday, the lead public prosecutor's office in Linz had no information from their Swiss colleagues.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Jauschowetz Birbaumer KroneLesereporter)

What happens next in the case of the 20-year-old Swiss man allegedly responsible for a series of bomb threats in Austria remains unclear on Thursday. The investigators from Switzerland are engaged in a veritable ping-pong between the authorities and Austria. Linz is still waiting for documents from Switzerland, which are crucial for further investigations into the case. 

Until Thursday, the lead public prosecutor's office in Linz had not received any information from its Swiss colleagues. They were apparently in no hurry: as a spokesperson for the responsible public prosecutor's office in the canton of St. Gallen confirmed, the documents were only sent to Austria by post on Wednesday.

Apparently no pre-trial detention for the bomb thief
This is the reason why the authorities in Linz have neither the results of the house search nor of the interrogation of the suspect. A spokesperson for the Swiss public prosecutor's office merely confirmed that the requests for legal assistance from Austria to "carry out the requested procedural acts" had been executed.

Which "procedural acts" the Swiss authorities had carried out in detail, however, remains an open question. The investigators in Upper Austria were also not told why the 20-year-old Swiss suspect was not remanded in custody. However, the suspect has already been released, as a spokesperson from Switzerland confirmed on Wednesday. When asked whether there was a risk that further threats could be sent by the accused Swiss national, the spokesperson replied in the affirmative. "Of course that is theoretically possible," he said.

Graz Central Station was the start of the sinister series on September 30.

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian)

Request for prosecution "noted"
Even in the event of extradition, the Swiss indicated that they would not cooperate with Austria. "As a Swiss citizen, he would have to agree, but he didn't," said a Swiss spokesperson. Although the Linz public prosecutor's office submitted a request to take over the prosecution, this was "noted" according to a Swiss spokesperson. A decision regarding this request could not be made at the moment from the Swiss point of view, as the files and evidence required by the "additional agreement" had not yet been submitted for the case.

In response, the Linz public prosecutor's office replied that the Swiss could have requested the documents long ago in order to speed up the proceedings. However, the authorities assume that the Swiss would want to take over the proceedings, as there is already another offense against the 20-year-old suspect, which the Swiss investigators took over. It is suspected that the Swiss man had already made threatening phone calls in 2022 - including in Austria.

A large number of threatening emails throughout Austria
In recent weeks, Austria has been rocked by a series of bomb threats that have disrupted public life in various parts of the country. The security authorities have located the suspected author of the threatening e-mails in Switzerland. A European arrest warrant has been issued for him.

The threats were directed at a number of facilities, including train stations, schools, a shopping center, a bank and a government building. The cities affected stretched across the whole country, from St. Pölten and Klagenfurt to Bregenz, Graz, Linz and Eisenstadt. Since September 30, the authorities have been investigating 27 anonymous bomb threats throughout Austria. Despite the investigation into the Swiss national, further bomb threats have been received in Austria - although it remains to be seen whether these are connected to the suspected Swiss national or whether they are possible copycats.