Two 19-year-old German citizens have been detained in Duisburg under European arrest warrants for the arson of “Starlink“ antennas near Sofia. The arson took place on October 9, and the detention took place days after the warrants were issued.
Bulgarian services established the identities of the two within hours of them leaving the country. Germany was notified of them on October 10, BNT reported. On October 19, a European arrest warrant was issued, and the documents related to it were translated and sent to the German authorities.
“Finally, a European arrest warrant was issued and the perpetrators were detained in Germany a few days ago“, said Prime Minister Rumen Radev.Radev explained that earlier disclosure of the information to parliament could have thwarted the detention. According to him, the authorities knew who the suspects were, but waited for the procedure under the European arrest warrant to be completed.
Extradition to Bulgaria is expected
Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said that the two are German citizens permanently residing in Germany, and that the Bulgarian authorities expect them to be extradited to Bulgaria. After that, the investigation should continue with actions by the Bulgarian authorities.
According to Demerdzhiev, the two crossed the border legally. He pointed out that at the time of their departure there was no legal basis for them to be stopped or detained. The minister also said that they had committed criminal acts in Germany, but they were not related to such acts.
Demerdzhiev added that, according to data available to the Bulgarian authorities, on October 18, the two committed a similar act in another European Union country. The claim is yet to be clarified within the framework of criminal proceedings.
The detention in Germany occurs after a failed session of the National Assembly, at which the Prime Minister, the Minister of the Interior and the Chairman of the National Security Agency were supposed to provide information about the arson and the departure of the suspects. 112 deputies showed up for registration, but the required quorum was not met.
Sources: bntnews.bg