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POLICE

Terror fears trigger Swiss run on guns

There has been a marked increase in applications for gun licences in Switzerland, a development police attribute to growing insecurity.

Terror fears trigger Swiss run on guns
More people want to own a gun. Photo: kecko.jpg

The SonntagsBlick newspaper reported new statistics showing the number of applications increased by 17 percent last year over the previous year.

The statistics from all 26 cantons showed that there were 29,146 applications for gun ownership made in 2015.

All cantons with the exception of Jura in the northwest reported an increase. In most cases there was a double-digit jump in requests.

Demand was highest in Obwalden (plus 49 percent), Lucerne (plus 34 percent) and Zug (33 percent).

And the trend looks set to continue this year. Figures provided by the cantons of St Gallen and Basel Country showed gun sales there were up 30 percent already this year, the paper said.

The increase in gun ownership is not down to people who shoot for a hobby, according to SonntagsBlick, as the number of those belonging to gun clubs has remained constant or even fallen in recent years.

There also appears to be no connection with army weapons. It has been the case for six years that anyone wanting to hold onto an army-issue gun following the end of their military service has needed a licence.

Police sources told the paper the likely reason for the boom in applications was the rise in fears over terrorism.

The 2016 security report by the Centre for Security Studies of the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich backed this up, according to the paper.

The report found growing pessimism about the global political situation with 87 percent of the view that more needed to be done to fight terrorism.

To own a gun in Switzerland you must file an application with the police, be over 18 and be able to prove you do not pose a danger to yourself or others.

Gun owners additionally need a licence to carry their weapon, and that requires passing a test.

 

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CRIME

Hoax bomb threats against French airports ‘traced to Swiss email’

Repeated bomb threats against dozens of French airports which led to evacuations and flight cancellations have been 'traced to an email address in Switzerland', according to French authorities.

Hoax bomb threats against French airports 'traced to Swiss email'

More than 70 bomb threats have been made against French airports in the past week, leading to evacuations at dozens of airports and at least 130 flights cancelled.

Most of the alerts were triggered by emails warning of a bomb in the airport – more than 70 such emails have been received by airports around the country such as Toulouse, Bordeaux, Paris Beauvais, Marseille and dozens of smaller airports – including Basel-Mulhouse on the Franco-Swiss border. 

On Sunday French Transport Minister Clément Beaune said that “almost all of the threats have been traced to the same email address, situated in Switzerland”.

He added: “Since Wednesday, it is almost always the same email address that is used, located outside the European Union, in Switzerland”.

He called on hosting sites to help the French authorities, saying: “Everyone has a responsibility, including the platforms and social networks, not to support this kind of attack and to cooperate as quickly as possible with the French civil aviation authorities and our justice system.”

In France, the maximum penalty for making a hoax bomb threat is two years in jail and a €30,000 fine.

As well as airport evacuations and flight disruption, French tourist sites have also been hit with bomb hoaxes – the Palace of Versailles has been evacuated seven times in the past week.

It comes in the context of a tense situation in France as the country raised its terror alert to maximum after an apparent Islamist attack on Friday, October 13th in which a teacher was killed and two others wounded.

Security at large events such as the Rugby World Cup matches has been stepped up. 

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