19 Aug 2012

Breivik imitator arrested by Czechs

2:15 pm on 19 August 2012

A man suspected of planning attacks similar to those carried out in Norway by Anders Behring Breivik, has been arrested in the Czech Republic.

Police said on Saturday that an assault rifle, explosives, ammunition and police clothing were found in an apartment where a man, 29, was detained in the eastern city of Ostrava on 10 August.

Breivik shot dead 69 people on an island after setting off a bomb in Oslo which killed eight people on 22 July last year. He was dressed as a police officer.

The BBC reports that police in Ostrava were alerted to the suspect because he used the name of Breivik in email correspondence.

The apartment was raided after police were tipped off that he was planning to detonate a large explosive device crafted from an aircraft bomb.

The man was carrying a remote controlled detonator when he was arrested.

The CTK news agency reports he had previously served a six-month suspended sentence for planting an explosive device at a petrol station.

A verdict in Breivik's trial is due on 24 August. He claimed he was trying to stop Muslims from taking over Norway.