The Berlin prosecutor's office has charged a Russian citizen with attempted murder and attempted arson. He is accused of attempting to set fire to the RIA Novosti office in Berlin. This is reported by the agency itself.
As DW wrote , activist Dmitry B. was detained in December 2022 and is now in one of the pre-trial detention centers in Berlin. According to investigators, the incident in question occurred on May 6, 2022. An empty beer bottle was thrown into the building of RIA Novosti, where Russian journalists and their families also live. Arriving on a call, the police found a suspicious object near the basement window. Explosives suggested that it could be dangerous. What kind of object it is and what conclusion the sappers came to after examining it is not reported.
On May 7, the Russian embassy in Germany announced the prevention of "a probable terrorist attack against Russian journalists and members of their families." The embassy reported that a canister with liquid was found on the territory and a plastic bottle and a gas cylinder with wires taped to it with tape.
The embassy linked this incident to "an atmosphere unleashed in Germany of persecution of state-owned Russian media, which are indiscriminately accused of spreading disinformation and propaganda." In connection with the incident, the Russian Embassy sent a note to the German Foreign Ministry.
According to DW, Dmitry B. is known in Berlin as the initiator of several high-profile actions aimed at criticizing the Russian authorities and Vladimir Putin. In the summer of 2022, the activist organized a tent camp near the office of the German chancellor, demanding more military assistance to Ukraine. Prior to that, he initiated days-long protests in front of the Russian embassy and at the Brandenburg Gate. One of their distinguishing features were galleries with portraits of people who suffered from political persecution in the Russian Federation – from victims of contract killings to defendants in criminal cases. On December 13, 2022, Dmitry B. extended an invitation to the next protest action scheduled for December 17-18. The next day he was arrested.