Polish neo-Nazi accused of planning mosque and school attacks

Polish authorities said ​on Tuesday that they have ​charged a man ‌linked to ​neo-Nazi groups with offences including preparing attacks on a school and a mosque. Prosecutors ‌said that Pawel G., a Polish national born in 2009 whose surname cannot be published due to privacy laws, was detained on ‌Friday.

Poland's Internal Security Agency (ABW) said that his arrest came ‌after the previously announced detention of two 16-year-olds he had been in contact with online via extremist and neo-Nazi circles on the Telegram and ⁠Discord ​services. "He participated ⁠in discussions regarding past terrorist attacks and their perpetrators. Some conversations also ⁠touched upon the planning of potential attacks; participants analysed the methods used ​by terrorists and viewed the perpetrators as sources of inspiration," ⁠ABW said.

Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek said targets included a mosque and a ⁠school. "There ​is not and will not be any leniency for fascism, hatred, or the planning of bloody attacks ⁠in Poland," he said on X. Pawel G. could face as much ⁠as 15 ⁠years in prison.

The two 16-year-olds, Kacper K. and Wiktor S., have been placed in juvenile ‌detention centres.