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Czech police, working in collaboration with their Slovak counterparts, have detained a minor suspected of plotting a terrorist attack on the Bratislava Pride parade.

According to a report from UNN, the boy was part of an international online group that coordinated attacks via Telegram.

Approximately two weeks ago, as Bratislava prepared for its annual march, which attracts tens of thousands of attendees, authorities uncovered a scheme to attack the parade participants.

The group, comprising members from various European countries, the United States, and Russia, had been formulating plans to target Muslims, Jews, migrants, and LGBTQ+ individuals through a closed group on Telegram and other online platforms.

“This group created channels and chat groups on various online platforms where people from all over Europe, the United States and the Russian Federation communicated. These channels were used to disseminate neo-Nazi symbols, hate speech and incitement to violence or terrorist attacks against minorities. The targets of the attacks were to be representatives of various minorities, such as Muslims, Jews, migrants or people from the LGBT+ community,” Slovak police said two weeks ago.

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One of the Telegram groups had hundreds of members, many of whom were minors. They shared neo-Nazi symbols, engaged in hate speech, and actively radicalised each other. According to police, they were planning their first attack to coincide with the Rainbow Pride march on July 20 in Bratislava, intending to kill participants.

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