PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: A university student in Poland has been charged with plotting a terror attack at a Christmas market and seeking to establish contacts with the Islamic State (ISIS).

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👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Mateusz W., a 19-year-old student at the Catholic University of Lublin, and Polish authorities, including special services spokesman Jacek Dobrzynski.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The arrest took place in late November in Lublin, eastern Poland. The alleged attack was planned for a Christmas market in an unspecified Polish city.

💬KEY QUOTE: “The man was very fascinated by Islam, sought to establish contacts with the Islamic State, and was preparing an attack in Poland, in one of the cities during a Christmas market.” – Jacek Dobrzynski.

🎯IMPACT: The arrest highlights ongoing security concerns at Christmas markets in Europe, which have been targeted by jihadists in multiple terror attacks in recent years.

Polish authorities have arrested a 19-year-old university student on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack on a Christmas market, officials said. Mateusz W., a student at the Catholic University of Lublin, was detained in late November after investigators concluded he had been preparing an attack that could have caused mass casualties.

During a search of his apartment in Lublin, officers seized data carriers and other items described by authorities as being “related to Islam.”

According to Jacek Dobrzynski, a spokesman for Poland’s special services, “The man was very fascinated by Islam, sought to establish contacts with the Islamic State, and was preparing an attack in Poland, in one of the cities during a Christmas market.” Investigators allege that Mateusz W. was preparing to use explosives and intended to join a terrorist organization.

Prosecutors have charged him with undertaking preparatory actions to carry out a terrorist attack that could have resulted in the death or serious injury of many people. A court has ordered that he remain in pretrial detention for three months while the investigation continues.

Christmas markets across Europe have faced heightened scrutiny from security services after a series of attacks and foiled plots in recent years. In December 2024, a car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, killed six people and injured more than 200, making it one of the deadliest such attacks in recent memory. German prosecutors later brought numerous murder and attempted murder charges against the Saudi immigrant suspect.

Other European countries have also reported disrupted plots targeting Christmas markets, while some municipalities have canceled events altogether, citing concerns over security costs and the risk of Islamist terrorism. American investigators have similarly noted that attackers inspired by the Islamic State have studied past Christmas market attacks before carrying out attacks in the U.S.

In response to the continuing threat, several European governments, including Germany, have expanded security measures around Christmas markets. These measures have included concrete barriers to block vehicles, police checkpoints, increased patrols, and enhanced video surveillance aimed at preventing attacks during the Christmas season.

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