Spanish pensioner gets 18 years in prison for sending explosives to consulates and top officials

In Spain, 74-year-old pensioner Pompeyo González Pascual has been sentenced. In 2022, he sent six parcels containing explosives, linking the actions to the war in Ukraine.

Our publication reported about arrest In January 2023, Spanish law enforcement authorities arrested an elderly suspect in the mailing of explosive letters in Spain.

The investigation claimed that he had connections with the Russian Federation, and The purpose of the action is to attack supporters of Ukraine. The suspect was remanded in custody without bail. The investigating judge of the National Court in Madrid on January 27 charged the arrested man with four counts of terrorism and two more counts of aggravated terrorism for sending dangerous letters to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Defense Minister Margarita Robles.

The accused was arrested in the town of Miranda de Ebro, 300 km north of Madrid. During a search of his home, a drone and electronic devices were found that were allegedly used to “drop explosives”.

The recipients of six letters containing explosives sent in November and December included Prime Minister Sanchez, the head of the Spanish Ministry of Defense, the Ukrainian and US embassies in Madrid, the satellite center of the Torrejon de Ardoz air base, and Instalaza, a manufacturer of weapons supplied to Ukraine.

Now the pensioner has been sentenced – Pompeyo Gonzalez Pascual received 18 years in prison, Reuters writes. Most of the packages were defused in time, but Ukrainian embassy employee Nikolai Velichko received minor injuries.

The court noted that Pascual acted “with the aim of creating a great stir in Spanish society, to put pressure on the governments of Spain and the United States so that they would stop supporting Ukraine in the war against Russia.” The court sentenced Pascual to 10 years in prison for terrorism and 8 years for making explosives. He must also pay Velichko 1,500 euros.

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