The 41-year-old man was arrested on Saturday evening at the Geneva Arena on suspicion of a terrorist threat. But the investigations did not bring to light any elements linked to any terrorist activity, indicated the Public Prosecutor of the canton of Geneva by email to RTS.
Consequently, the public prosecutor’s office did not request a resumption of the proceedings by the Public Prosecutor of the Confederation. The 41-year-old defendant was immediately released from Champ-Dollon prison, but the criminal proceedings against him for having alarmed the population are continuing.
Very active on social networks
According to information from RTS, the man explained that he had converted to Islam to turn the page on his complicated young years. He confirmed to be very active on social networks, but there would be no desire to scare the population, no terrorist desire.
Yet it is precisely his activities on the internet that led last Saturday evening to his arrest and the emergency evacuation of the Arena, one of the largest concert halls in French-speaking Switzerland.
A mysterious farewell message
The alert to the Swiss police came from the Gendarmerie Command in cyberspace in France. It seems that a farewell message posted on an account belonging to the quarantine is in question. The police would have deemed it sufficiently serious and disturbing to evacuate the theater.
An aggravating factor, the defendant knows the Arena well, because he works in front of the entrance to the theater, in a small stall selling drinks and churros.
Possibly a false alarm
A priori, it could therefore be a false alarm. Moreover, according to relatives of the defendant, there would have been confusion about the nature of the incriminated message. The man is said to have posted it online after attending a funeral – hence a farewell text.
According to a brief analysis carried out by the RTS, photos and videos posted online by this father do not really show anything worrying. No trace of jihadist propaganda or messages of a violent nature has been found.
Lomepal concert postponed to April 7
The Geneva Arena was evacuated on Saturday evening and the concert that the French rapper Lomepal was to give there was canceled. The police conducted a search of the premises. The 8,500 spectators will be able to attend the artist’s concert on April 7th.
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