Would-be bombers released on bail by Thessaloniki magistrate

A magistrate in the northern port city of Thessaloniki released two men accused of trying to set off homemade explosives outside the home of a former minister on bail on Monday.

The two suspects, aged 27 and 28 years old respectively, reportedly admitted to being self-styled anarchists but denied trying to plant two makeshift bombs last week in the entrance of an apartment building in the suburb of Kalamaria that is the home of the head of the Deposits and Loans Fund, former conservative minister Dimitris Stamatis.

The men face charges of forming a criminal gang, attempting to cause an explosion, attempted arson, manufacturing and possessing explosives, violations of weapons and rugs laws, and resisting arrest.

They were released on Monday on the condition that they post 10,000 euros in bail each and report to their local police precinct twice a month.

The 27-year-old was caught by police early last Wednesday while allegedly attempting to place a backpack containing the incendiary devices outside the building. The second man, who had been keeping a lookout while his accomplice tried to set off the bomb, was caught later in the center of Thessaloniki.

Raids on the suspects’ homes turned up several incendiary devices, a tear gas canister and bottles containing a flammable liquid.