Ülemiste bombing suspect remanded in custody for two months
A court on Monday granted authority to remand the suspect in Saturday's Tallinn shopping mall bombing in custody, for two months.
The first-tier Harju County Court granted a prosecutor's office request that Artur Boiko, 60, who had already been detained on Sunday, be held in custody as a suspect in the bomb explosion at the Ülemiste keskus shopping mall Saturday evening. The blast injured one person.
Boiko has prior convictions for large-scale hacking into sensitive state databases and for making threats of violence.
The prosecutor's office filed the request for custody as there are grounds to believe that if left at liberty he may re-offend.
The suspect's prior convictions as well as the nature of the act under investigation indicate that he may present a danger if free. Lighter preventive measures may not be sufficient to prevent further offenses either.
"Internal Security Police officers, rescue service and police officers have been working through Sunday and Monday, at the suspect's place of residence and its surroundings. To ensure safety and given the nature of the crime, boosted forces have been deployed, including bomb disposal experts. This work is ongoing, and we therefore ask members of the public in the area to follow officials' instructions, which will ensure safety and allow experts to work on site," Priit Heinsoo, chief prosecutor of the Northern District, said.
ISS Director General Margo Palloson had said at Sunday's press conference that the explosion had been caused deliberately and that the suspect had already been identified as of Saturday evening, meaning the threat to public safety had been neutralized. The mall later reopened.
Palloson said at the time there had been no indication of any links to terrorism, extremism, or the influence of a foreign state, while State Prosecutor General Astrid Asi stated the act had been motivated by the desire to extract personal revenge stemming from previous involvement with the Ülemiste mall. "There was an intention to cause damage to the shopping centre," Asi said.
One person was hospitalized as a result of the explosion. Palloson said Sunday that the injured person may be discharged within a couple of days, to recuperate at home.
Boiko is reportedly a stateless person residing in Estonia.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Johanna Alvin
