German prosecutors accuse the two men of being linked to what it says is a "terrorist organization of the Donetsk People's Republic."
What does this mean from a legal point of view?
Police in the Bavarian city of Bayreuth have arrested two men in an espionage incident linked to Russia. Dieter S. and his helper Aleksandar J. are suspected of preparing sabotage in Germany for the benefit of the Russian secret services. German nationals of Russian descent have also been accused of spying on US military bases and planning attacks on transport routes used by the military.
According to the German Federal Prosecutor's Office, Dieter S. was "a member of the foreign terrorist organization 'Donetsk People's Republic'". The Prosecutor's Office thereby practically designates the self-proclaimed People's Republic as a terrorist organization.
It is, it is stated, a "pro-Russian organization that took control of the Ukrainian administrative district of Donetsk in the spring of 2014 with the aim of secession from Ukraine and that had intense conflicts with Ukrainian military forces." It is also claimed that the organization has repeatedly used violence against the civilian population.
According to the results of the investigation so far, Dieter S. has had contact with a person connected to the Russian secret service since October 2023. It is also suspected that, as a member of a foreign terrorist organization, he was preparing serious acts that threaten state security.
The Federal Prosecutor's Office adds: "Based on the relevant facts, there is reasonable suspicion that Dieter S. was active as a fighter in eastern Ukraine in the armed unit of the 'Donetsk People's Republic' between December 2014 and September 2016, and that in that context he possessed firearms." .“
At the time of pro-Western opposition protests and the change of government in Kyiv, in the spring of 2014, the so-called "Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republic" was proclaimed in eastern Ukraine. In February 2022, just three days before Russia's major attack on Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin recognized the two separatist regions as independent. In September of the same year, Russia annexed the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
How do you get on the list of foreign terrorist organizations?
"We are convinced that there are ongoing Russian espionage activities against German interests," Thomas Haldenwang, president of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, said in an interview with DW. "Germany is an important player in many political areas when it comes to supporting Ukraine."
German authorities have so far not classified the "Donetsk People's Republic" as a terrorist organization. What has changed?
In Germany, there are two ways to put a certain structure on the list of terrorist organizations: through administrative measures of the authorities and through criminal law, lawyer Dr. Matthias Hartwig from the University of Heidelberg explains to DW. He cites the example of the radical Islamist movement Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization at the level of the European Union, but is also classified as such through court decisions.
This does not mean, says Hartwig, that the German state now considers the "Donetsk People's Republic" a terrorist organization. But, according to the prosecution's assessment, she is. It remains unclear, however, whether the entire quasi-state structure created by the separatist and Russian authorities or only its paramilitary part is classified as such.
Dr. Hartwig estimates that the German prosecutor's office considers all the structures there to be illegal and, as he says, with good reasons - because the Ukrainian side concluded that these structures are "responsible for murders and deaths." According to the German lawyer, it is now up to the courts to decide whether these structures should be considered terrorist.
And the German public service ARD pointed out that the move of the German federal prosecutor's office is "new". "Federal Minister of Justice Marko Bušman (FDP) issued an appropriate order for criminal prosecution. It is a step with great symbolic importance that could have diplomatic consequences", said ARD terrorism experts Mihael Gečenberg and Holger Schmidt.
The only diplomatic consequence so far is that the Russian ambassador has been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But legal expert Hartvig does not rule out the possibility that the spy scandal will further aggravate tensions between Germany and Russia: "Germany is not bound by international law and can freely say: It is an annexed area and we classify the structures that exercise power there as terrorist." And Germany does not violate international law," concludes Dr. Matthias Hartwig.
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