Bombs away
Several German newspapers have reported that a German man was arrested last week at the airport in Verona, Italy for allegedly making what appeared to be terrorist threats. Most of the newspapers only identified the man as 27-year old "Tobias W.", a young politician from Munich, Germany. It is common for the German press to refer to subjects by their first name and the first letter of the surname, in a (frequently unsuccessful) attempt to protect victims and the accused from notoriety. But the Hamburger Morgenpost went a bit further, conditionally identifying Tobias W. as the one who "supposedly" supplies images for the website of Faris Al Sultan. The Morgenpost's quasi-identification was seconded by 3athlon.de's Kai Baumgartner, who confirmed that, "Tobias W. handles logistics, like travel, for Faris Al Sultan, and supplies Faris' website, 3athlon.de and a few other sites with images."
According to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Tobias W. apparently arrived late for a flight at the airport in Verona and, despite arguing vehemently, was not allowed to board the plane. He grew irate, according to news reports, and told them that he was a sports journalist needing to get to the European Soccer Championships in Vienna, Austria. He was still denied access to the plane, and subsequently left the gate or terminal.
The Sueddeutsche Zeitung further reports that shortly thereafter the police received a phone call from someone who made comments consistent with an Islamic fundamentalist terrorist, announcing that there was a bomb on board Air-Dolomiti flight 8074 to Vienna.
According to German and Italian media reports, a short while later Tobias W. showed up at the counter of the airline once more, asking to be let on board now, since the plane had not yet left. The airline employees became suspicious, since the bomb threat was not yet public knowledge. Tobias W. was then questioned by police, who according to the Hamburger Morgenpost traced back the phone call to his mobile phone.
The telephone call caused an anti-terror alarm, forcing the delay of several flights, and Tobias W. now, "has to count on criminal prosecution in Italy," an Italian police official was quoted as saying by the Morgenpost. Should he be found guilty he may also be held responsible for the costs associated with that activity.
Baumgartner of 3athlon.de and Al-Sultan have faced a barrage of interest from the mainstream German press, due to their relationship to the accused. "When in doubt you always have to remember that someone is innocent until proven guilty," said Baumgartner, "and thus we should wait for the legal proceedings. Tobias hasn’t confirmed anything to me yet and I doubt he will. He is still young and may not have thought about the consequences of the activity he is being accused of by Italian authorities."
