By Anatoly Medetsky City authorities tightened security as they received an anonymous letter threatening to blow up a Vladivostok school on New Year's eve if the police don't release all Chechens from a local prison, the city hall said December 23. Vladivostok Mayor Yury Kopylov called the threat, which might be just a prank, an echo of the war in the breakaway republic of Chechnya. The letter, the first news of which appeared last week, demanded that the police not only let out all Chechens from a Vladivostok prison, but also provide a plane to fly to Chechnya. As in many false bomb scares that have plagued the city, the writers of the letter said they would explode a school if their demands were ignored. "You would be mourning instead of celebrating the New Year," the letter read according to Novosti. A prank or not, police have set up posts in all city schools, watching for suspicious people and checking basements and outhouses, Novosti reported. The newspaper also found evidence that the scare might be real. A Chechen, identified only as Aslam, who used to work as a carpenter in Vladivostok school No. 77, is now awaiting trial in the prison. His two brothers, former convicts, might be behind the threat, sources said. In all, there are three Chechens in the prison including Aslam, pending trial for drug-related crimes. The police received the letter December 14, sources said. But officers had not officially admitted the fact until December 23. © copyright 2000 the Vladivostok News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in any form. [Back to News page]  [Back to Front page]  [Write to us]