Inspections by pyrotechnicians determined that reports on possible explosives in courts in several cities were false, and after the police responded to messages received by judicial institutions throughout Croatia due to the reports of bombs, several shopping centers were also evacuated.

According to information available by 1:00 pm, it was established that reports of bombs at the courts in the cities of Varazdin, Cakovec, Karlovac, Sisak, and Sibenik were false alarms.

The police then reported that anonymous reports made earlier in the day about alleged explosive devices placed in the buildings of judicial authorities had spread to shopping centers throughout Croatia.

“Police officers from the bomb squad have been sent to all locations to verify if the reports were true and take all necessary measures and actions within their jurisdiction to protect the safety of citizens,” the police said.

Several local police departments have since confirmed that the explosive tests conducted in the courts did not reveal anything suspicious.

President of Karlovac County Court Ante Ujevic told the Croatian state news agency Hina he was confident that this is not just an act of attack on concrete buildings and citizens but that “the attack on state institutions is an attack on the state government itself, and that all of this should be thoroughly investigated.”

The government told Hina on Monday they had not received any information about any bomb, as reported by some news websites. As a result no action taken and government employees were not evacuated.

At the same time, the government announced that all competent services were acting based on bomb threats in courts in several cities.

Supreme Court president Radovan Dobronic told the Croatian public broadcaster HRT that the judicial police officer informed him about the tip during a meeting with a delegation of the Supreme Court of Ukraine and that it seems to him that the bomb threats could be related.