Foreign Ministry: Law for weapons also applies to embassies
Prague, Jan 2 (ČTK) — Detectives found some weapons that had not been registered in Czech Republic in the building of the future Palestinian embassy in Prague and they keep examining them, Prague police chief Martin Vondrášek has told ČTK.
He refused to specify the number and types of the unregistered weapons and release other details.
Policemen found a number of traces during the investigation into the explosion of a safe that killed Palestinian ambassador Jamal Al Jamal in the Palestinian embassy’s building in Prague-Suchdol neighborhood on Wednesday, Vondrášek said.
“Genetic and ballistic examinations will follow,” he added.
The police are checking whether the weapons are in some world databases.
Detectives will now look into how the weapons have got to the embassy.
“The conditions of the acquisition, ownership, possession and use of weapons and ammunition and the rights and duties of weapon and ammunition holders are set by law No 119/2002 on arms and ammunition of the Digest of Laws. The provisions of this law apply also to the persons who enjoy diplomatic privileges and immunity,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Johana Grohová told ČTK.
Jamal succumbed to the injuries he suffered in the blast of an as yet unspecified explosive while manipulating the embassy’s safe in his diplomatic flat in Prague.
The Criminology Institute is examining the safe and the substance that went off in it. The results can be expected in a couple of days, the police said.
Palestinian embassy spokesman Nabil El Fahel said the safe had been commonly used.
He ruled out the information in the media from Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki who said the safe had not been used for two decades or more.
Fahel later specified that there were two safes at the embassy — the used one that went off and the other that was closed.
The police opened the other safe and found nothing inside, their spokesman said.
Neither the police nor the BIS counter-intelligence service have information indicating that the Wednesday blast was a terrorist act.
According to the Palestinian authorities, it was probably a work-related injury.
Czech doctors are carrying out an autopsy on Jamal’s body today.
His remains might be transported to Palestine next week.
A representative of the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has arrived in Prague over the tragic accident.
The diplomatic mission in Prague is temporarily headed by charge d’affaires Jadallah Sabatin.
