By Thomas Escritt and Markus Wacket
BERLIN (Reuters) -German police have arrested a Polish-German citizen accused of running a dark web site that instigated the assassinations of prominent politicians, prosecutors said on Tuesday.
Prosecutors said the suspect, identified only as Martin S. in accordance with German privacy laws, had solicited cryptocurrency donations to pay for successful hits on people to whom he had handed down “death sentences.”
Although authorities did not name any of the politicians or public figures he targeted, the news magazine Spiegel reported that former chancellors Angela Merkel and Olaf Scholz, as well as other former federal ministers, were on the list.
The suspect, who was arrested late Monday evening in the western city of Dortmund, is charged with serious crimes against the state. Prosecutors did not elaborate on his motive or suggest he was working for a foreign actor.
INCREASE IN ATTACKS ON POLITICIANS, CYBER THREATS
The dark website, invisible to browsers not running special software, also contained instructions on how to make explosives and sensitive personal information about possible victims.
The website has existed since at least June 2025.
“The suspect will appear today before an investigating judge, who will decide whether to issue an arrest warrant,” prosecutors said in their statement on Tuesday.
German politicians complain that they are increasingly victims of attacks, both verbal and physical, at a time of increasing polarization.
There has also been a general increase in the scale of cyber threats against Germany and other Western countries.
In addition, the German cybersecurity agency BSI warned in a report on Tuesday that companies and institutions are still doing too little to protect themselves.
Around February’s national elections, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks rose 52%, the agency said, adding that Russia was one of the top sources of such attacks.
(Reporting by Thomas Escritt and Markus Wacket, Editing by Miranda Murray, Aidan Lewis)
