Police officers have arrested a Russian national in northern Greece for having sent threatening e-mails to Athens International Airport and six public hospitals in the Greek capital a day earlier.
The 42-year-old Russian man was arrested in Thessaloniki in the early hours of this Wednesday by officers of the Sub-Directorate for Combating Special Violent Crimes of Northern Greece.
Against the man, a case file was filed for terrorist acts, spreading false news, disrupting the operation of services, disturbing the peace of citizens and attempting to obstruct transportation, media report.
The arrestee had sent emails threatening to plant explosive devices at the Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos” and in six hospitals of Attica on Tuesday. The e-mails reportedly contained also references to Islam.
Both the airport and the hospitals were set on alert, however, thorough security checks found nothing suspicious, leading authorities to consider the e-mails as a hoax.
The threatening e-mails were sent after an “bomb warning” e-mail was sent to Ryanair on Sunday. the plane was heading to Athens from Poland and had activated the Renegade Emergency Response thus having f-16 fighter jets escorting it to Eleftherios Venizelos airport. The e-mail was a hoax, too.
The Russian national will be taken to the competent Prosecutor later on Wednesday.