Czech Embassy in Slovakia Gets Poisoned Mail

Slovak police said Friday the Czech embassy in Bratislava received an envelope containing a poisonous salt, the latest suspect mail targeting Czech officials.

The Slovak anti-crime agency NAKA is investigating the envelope, which contained sodium azide when it arrived Thursday, police spokesman Michal Slivka told AFP.

Sodium azide transforms quickly into a potentially deadly gas when mixed with water, an acid or if it comes into contact with metals like copper or lead.

Local media said the envelope had been sent from Sweden.

The Czech ambassador in Bratislava is Livia Klausova, wife of former Czech president Vaclav Klaus, a euroskeptic in power until last year when left-winger Milos Zeman took over.

The Czech interior and finance ministers received poison in envelopes in November, while the president, premier and foreign minister received envelopes with non-toxic white powder in September.

The three-party, center-left coalition government has been in power since the early elections of October 2013.