Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office: Two German citizens accused of Starlink arson arrested in Germany

Two German citizens, accused by the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office of complicity in arson, have been detained in Germany on the basis of European Arrest Warrants issued in Sofia, the Prosecutor’s Office said on October 27.

On October 19, the Sofia City Court issued European Arrest Warrants for 19-year-old German citizens Zeka Islam and Tirlan Beitullah, who allegedly carried out arson of several Starlink system antennas at a facility in Plana near Sofia on October 9.

The October 27 statement said that the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office had received information from the International Operational Cooperation Directorate of the Ministry of Interior, according to which the two defendants were identified and detained on October 23 in the city of Duisburg, Germany.

Currently, the German authorities are also executing the European Investigation Order issued by the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office, on the basis of which they are collecting evidence in the case, the statement said.

The relevant procedures are pending before the competent German judicial authorities and the transfer of the accused to the Bulgarian authorities.

The pre-trial investigation continues, the statement said.

The Gateway antennas that were set on fire are part of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite communications system. They have been of strategic importance to the Ukrainian military since the beginning of the Russian war in Ukraine.