MADRID ( Associated Press) — Spain’s national court filed terrorism charges Friday against a 74-year-old retiree for allegedly sending six letters containing explosive material to Spain’s prime minister and the US and Ukrainian embassies in the country.
The court reported that the man, still unidentified, was brought before a judge in Madrid and held without bail. It said the suspect, referred to only by the initials PGP, was charged with six different terrorism offenses after being arrested on Wednesday in the northern city of Miranda de Ebro.
According to court documents, the man was charged with the manufacture and use of explosive devices for terrorist purposes. Two of the alleged crimes were classified as serious enough to involve members of the government.
Spanish media reported that the suspect had ties to Russia, actively participated in social networks and allegedly represents a flight risk.
The six-letter bombs were sent in November and December last year and needed to be defused by the bomb squad. An employee of the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid was slightly injured while handling one letter, and another was destroyed after being sent by regular mail to Pedro Sánchez, the president of the Spanish government.
Similar letters were sent to Spain’s defense ministry, an EU satellite center at the Torrejón de Ardoz airbase on the outskirts of Madrid, and a weapons plant in northeastern Spain that makes grenades that are shipped to Ukraine.
