Bulgarian court approves EU arrest warrant for two young Germans over Starlink arson
Two young German citizens are charged with setting fire to Starlink antennas at the Plana teleport near Sofia on Oct. 9. The Sofia City Court approved the warrant; the defense disputes the suspicion and will appeal.
Symbolic image · Photo: Odapresste / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
A Bulgarian court on Monday approved a European arrest warrant for two young German citizens accused of setting fire to Starlink antennas at the Plana teleport south of Sofia. The two defendants, whose identity documents list 2007 as their year of birth, were charged in absentia on Oct. 14 and face three to 12 years in prison if convicted. The Sofia City Court ruling can be appealed within three days.
Prosecutors say the pair entered Bulgaria on Oct. 9 through the Kalotina border crossing, stating they were tourists, and left for Serbia the same night. Wearing gloves and masks, they allegedly set the fire at about 10:25 p.m., burning three antennas to their foundations and damaging others. German authorities do not know where the two are, the state news agency BTA reported.
Court-appointed defense lawyers dispute that the two are the perpetrators and said they would appeal. Photos showed only the car with German plates, not the defendants themselves, one of the lawyers argued. The court nonetheless found reasonable suspicion. The defendants are presumed innocent; investigators have not disclosed a motive.