Two Germans charged with setting fire to Starlink antennas near the village of Plana, outside Sofia, were arrested on 23 October in Duisburg, the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office said. They are due to be handed over to the Bulgarian authorities.
On Monday, 19 October, it emerged that the two had left Bulgaria. That same day, the Sofia City Court was considering the prosecutors' request for European arrest warrants.
The background: Suspects in Starlink antenna arson near Plana have left Bulgaria
Prosecutors have charged them with arson as accomplices. On the basis of the warrants, the two were put on an international wanted list. The Interior Ministry's International Operational Cooperation Directorate told the prosecutor's office about the arrest.
Prosecutor Nikolay Nikolaev, the office's spokesman, told the BTA news agency there are two ways to hand them over. If the accused agree to extradition, there will be no court case. If they refuse, the process is slower, because it goes through court proceedings that must follow time limits set by German law.
German authorities are also gathering evidence in the case, under a European investigation order from the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office. Prosecutors are also in touch with Poland, where similar arson attacks on Starlink antennas have happened.
Nikolaev could not say whether a rival firm or foreign intelligence services ordered the arson, as the investigation is still under way.
Prime minister Rumen Radev confirmed at a parliamentary hearing in mid-October that the arson is under investigation. Ivaylo Mirchev, co-chair of Yes, Bulgaria, part of Democratic Bulgaria, was the first to report the case, a week before the hearing.
At the same hearing, interior minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said Interior Ministry units have taken extra steps to guard such sites in Bulgaria, although their owners are responsible for them.