The elderly tourist was apprehended by police following a false alarm and has now been released, according to reports
Police have released an elderly Italian citizen who was apprehended at a railway station in the city of Perm, Russia, after watchful local residents reported that a “suspicious” man was taking photographs of trains, Mash telegram channel has reported.
The man, identified as Aloisio Bruno, had been taken to a police station for questioning, Mash claimed on Saturday, without specifying when exactly the incident had occurred. The detainee couldn’t speak any Russian so officers got a translator, according to the news outlet.
It emerged that the man was a tourist who has been regularly visiting Perm since 2019 for romantic reasons; Bruno reportedly has a love affair with a local woman, Mash claimed. He explained that he was taking photographs of trains solely because of his passion for railway technology.
Police asked the Italian trainspotter to delete all the snaps before letting him go, the Mash report also claimed.
Following the start of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, there have been several acts of sabotage against communication and transport infrastructure across Russia. A number of planned terrorist attacks on railroads have been thwarted, according to the FSB, the country’s domestic security service.
In December, security services in Moscow arrested a man accused of acting on behalf of Kiev to derail a train in a “terrorist act” in the western part of the country. As a result of the incident, 19 freight cars carrying mineral fertilizers were derailed on November 11 in Ryazan Region, around 200 kilometers southeast of Moscow. Investigators identified the alleged perpetrator as a 35-year-old Ryazan resident with dual Russian-Italian citizenship.
