Dusseldorf. The police are urgently searching for a man who is said to have carried out sabotage against the German power grid. After officials found explosives in the 48-year-old's apartment in Gevelsberg (North Rhine-Westphalia), a special operations team (SEK) stormed a truck in a forest in Niederzier, around 100 kilometers away, on Friday afternoon that had apparently been converted into a mobile home. This was reported by NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul in Düsseldorf. The man was not in the vehicle and may be on foot.
The CDU politician appeared at a press conference alongside Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), who spoke of “climate terrorism”. The man is probably a lone perpetrator; according to investigators, his letter of confession is authentic. “The knowledge that is revealed in these letters is clear perpetrator knowledge,” said Dobrindt. The author named Dormagen and Weisweiler near Aachen as destinations - i.e. places not far from brown coal mining areas, said NRW counterpart Reul.
The letters were received by several German media companies. According to media reports, they contain information about acts that were not yet publicly known at the time. “Producing electricity from fossil fuels is a crime,” the letters said.
Interior Minister Reul contradicted this: “The fact is: It is not the generation of electricity from fossil fuels that is a crime, but attacking critical infrastructure is a crime.” There is no justification for the actions. “No ideology is a good excuse.” Anyone who endangers the power supply to hospitals in the name of climate protection is not saving anything but endangering lives. Regarding possible consequences, Reul said: “We have to better protect the critical infrastructure.” This requires clear rights and modern technology, such as cameras, sensors and alarm systems.
The man signed the letters alone and even gave his home address, which was unusual, said Reul and added: "When you see where he drove around, you ask yourself: Could someone have done this alone or does he need help?"
There have been several attempts at sabotage related to the power supply this week. Recently, events in North Rhine-Westphalia caused a stir. A suspicious object was discovered at a substation in Dormagen between Cologne and Düsseldorf, according to the police, possibly a launching device. A walker noticed the construction and alerted the police.
According to the police, the constructions found are very similar to the launching devices that unknown people used to shoot cables over the overhead lines in Bergheim and thus paralyze several power plant blocks. There had also been an attack on the power grid near Jänschwalde in Brandenburg.
On Friday, the police combed the area with numerous forces at the Weisweiler power plant near Aachen and a substation in Eschweiler because the location was mentioned in the letter of responsibility.
At the Weisweiler power plant, the police seized numerous thin wires, as a dpa reporter observed. The officers focused on several locations in a field and in bushes in the immediate vicinity of the power plant and a substation in the town of Eschweiler. Officials documented the areas with photos. The police initially did not provide any further information about the operation.
On Tuesday morning, unknown people initially launched an attack on the power supply in Brandenburg near the Turnow-Preilack substation not far from the Jänschwalde power plant. In the evening there was a malfunction at a substation in Bergheim near Cologne.
According to the authorities, launchers and pyrotechnics were found near both locations - in Brandenburg, according to dpa information, more than 20 rockets. It is being investigated for unconstitutional sabotage. In Saxony, “unknown explosive devices” were discovered following information from a letter claiming responsibility. “The police forces have secured four objects at two locations in the ongoing operation and are now starting to defuse them,” explained Interior Minister Armin Schuster (CDU) in response to a dpa request. In Lower Saxony, an open control cabinet at a substation in Ganderkesee in the Oldenburg district caused a stir on Friday night. The police are checking whether there is a connection to a crime.
The police asked the public for support in the ongoing investigation and activated a tip portal. If you notice people or vehicles in the area of substations, you can report this at https://nrw.tippportal.de/. Images and video material are of particular interest.
