Czech pensioner jailed for trying to derail trains in terror attack

PRAGUE: A 71-year- old Czech pensioner who attempted to derail two trains and then blame it on a fictional jihadist attack was sentenced yesterday to four years in prison for terrorism.

Jaromir Balda felled trees in the summer of 2017 with the intention of blocking railway tracks and forcing derailments near the central town of Mlada Boleslav, the court in Prague heard.

Two regional trains hit the trees but none of the passengers onboard were injured.

“The decision on his guilt was not complicated, the punishment is adequate,” said judge Jiri Wazik, reading the judgement in the court in Prague. Prosecutors said only a “happy combination of circumstances” had prevented anyone from being injured in the incidents.

Balda left leaflets containing messages in Arabic, transcribed into Latin characters, in an attempt to blame the attack on Muslim migrants, the court heard.