Czech police charge man over 'Breivik-style' plot

Police say said the explosives, weapons and ammunition were all functional

Police in the Czech Republic have charged a man who is suspected of planning attacks similar to those by Anders Behring Breivik in Norway.

The 29-year-old man was charged with unlawful possession of weapons and endangering the public.

Weapons, explosives and police uniforms were found in his flat in the city of Ostrava and detectives say he was using the name Breivik on the internet.

The man has five convictions, one for blowing up a wooden shack.

Neighbours told Czech media that the suspect, whose name has not been released, had mental problems but did not appear to be an extremist.

Police searched the man's apartment on 10 August but have only now disclosed details of what was found.

They raided the property after being tipped off that he was planning to detonate a large explosive device crafted from an aircraft bomb.

He was carrying a remote-controlled detonator when he was arrested last week. About 400 ammunition rounds, police uniforms and masks were also found in his flat.

'Probable sympathies'

At a news conference, police said they did not know the suspect's intended target, but said the explosives, weapons and ammunition were all functional.

The man had enough weapons to kill dozens of people.

The director of the regional headquarters of the Czech police, Tomas Tuhy, said they were investigating any possible connection with Breivik.

"We are working with the idea that this 29-year-old man probably sympathises with known murderer Anders Breivik from Norway," he said.

A photograph in the Czech media shows a smiling young man with a receding hairline and a neatly trimmed beard, being led away in handcuffs, the BBC's Rob Cameron reports from Prague.

On 22 July 2011, Breivik, a right-wing militant, killed eight people in a bomb attack in Oslo before gunning down another 69 in a youth camp on the island of Utoeya.

Judges are set to decide next week whether he is sane or insane, and therefore whether he will be given a long prison sentence or be sent to a secure psychiatric ward.