Two teens accused of planning terror attack released from custody
Authorities in canton Schaffhausen have released two teenagers who were arrested over Easter in connection to planned bomb attacks in Switzerland.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
The 15-year-old Swiss and 16-year-old Italian were sent to a closed institution where they will be assessed.
The two young people are suspected of having supported the banned terrorist organisation Islamic State (IS), the Schaffhausen public prosecutor’s office said on Thursday. The two are alleged to have helped plan explosives attacks in Switzerland.
The Schaffhausen youth prosecutor’s office has not provided any further details, partly because the suspects are minors. The two teenagers were arrested over the Easter weekend, together with an 18-year-old suspected accomplice, a Swiss national from canton Thurgau, with whom they are said to have been in contact.
The 18-year-old is being investigated by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG). He is still in custody, the Keystone-SDA news agency understands. Investigations to clarify the specific intentions and role of the accused remain ongoing and no further information can therefore be provided.
Links to IS supporters in Germany
According to information provided by the OAG in mid-April, there is a link between the Swiss investigations and similar inquiries in Germany. There, four 15- and 16-year-olds were also arrested over Easter on suspicion of terrorism and possible IS support. The OAG says it is in contact with relevant German authorities.
Three suspects from the German region of North Rhine-Westphalia and one from Baden-Württemberg are said to have discussed plans to attack police stations, churches or synagogues in a chat group.
Adapted from German by DeepL/kp
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
This content was published on
Some aspects of pro-Palestine sit-ins have gone too far, but the right to protest and debate must be upheld, the student association has said.
Swiss LGTBIQ helpline: attacks more than doubled in 2023
This content was published on
Three organisations jointly operating a helpline have called for more awareness, action and funding to address discrimination.
This content was published on
Switzerland's economy grew slightly at the start of 2024, with growth in the service sector contrasting with weak growth in industry.
Swiss employment rate rises in first quarter of 2023
This content was published on
The number of women and foreign nationals in employment increased particularly strongly, the Federal Statistical Office said on Thursday.
Coercion still an issue in Swiss welfare system, report finds
This content was published on
The rights of vulnerable people are still sometimes disregarded by the Swiss welfare system, a national research programme has found.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.