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TERRORISM

Swiss parliament to boost security with anti-terrorism bollards

The Federal Palace in the Swiss capital of Bern is to get extra security in the form of a dozen stone bollards, it was revealed on Friday.

Published: 23 August 2019 14:35 CEST
Swiss parliament to boost security with anti-terrorism bollards
An illuminated Federal Palace in Bern in 2017. File photo: AFP

The permanent bollards made of stone will be placed on the footpath in front of the main entrance of the heritage-protected historic building which is home to both houses of the Swiss parliament.

Their placement is designed to stop terror attacks involving vehicles, Swiss national broadcaster SRF reported on Friday.

The move comes in the wake of security advice from Switzerland’s Federal Police (Fedpol).

Fedpol spokesperson Florian Näf told SRF the decision to place the bollards comes in the context of ever-growing visitors to the recently restored Federal Palace and an increased threat of terrorism across Europe.

The Federal Palace attracts around 100,000 visitors a year – around double the number before the building was restored a decade ago.

The Bundesplatz square in front of the Swiss parliament building is also a popular gathering place for tourists and locals and is regularly the site of both events and protests.

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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.

Published: 23 October 2023 09:13 CEST
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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