PRAGUE — Czech authorities have taken into custody five teenagers suspected of being radicalized through online interactions with the militant Islamic State group. Two out of these five teenagers are facing charges related to terrorism, following their attempt to set a synagogue on fire, officials revealed on Wednesday.
According to B?etislav Brejcha, who heads the Czech counterterrorism, extremism, and cybercrime department, the majority of these individuals are minors, under the age of 18. Their detainment occurred over the span of February to June, during the course of an international probe that initiated last year.
Brejcha mentioned that the group was involved in disseminating hate content on social media platforms, targeting minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, and Jewish people. The authorities, during seven separate raids conducted in the Czech Republic and Austria, confiscated various weapons including knives, machetes, axes, and gas pistols.
On January 29, 2024, two of the teenagers attempted to ignite a synagogue located in Brno, which ranks as the second-largest city in the Czech Republic, Brejcha disclosed without elaborating further. Czech media reported an attempted arson around that time, noting that police were seeking witnesses. Reports mentioned that the suspects placed a firebomb outside the synagogue, although it failed to detonate and no harm was inflicted.
The duo faces charges pertaining to hate-related offenses, the promotion and support of terrorism, and an attempted terror attack. They were also linked to online forums that recruit fighters for IS militants in Syria, according to Brejcha. The Czech authorities maintained collaboration with law enforcement in Austria, Britain, Slovakia, and the European Union’s Europol on this case.
Michal Koudelka, who leads the Czech counterintelligence agency known as BIS, remarked that these youths shared an admiration for violence and animosity towards Jews, LGBTQ+ individuals, and others. Encountering Islamic State members online led them to become radicalized, Koudelka asserted.
He expressed that the radicalization of youth through online channels poses a significant threat, emphasizing that the suspects had no interactions with the local Muslim community.