German authorities have arrested a third suspect in connection with a late September arson attack on a Starlink satellite communications station in Poland. According to Die Zeit, citing police in the German state of Baden-Württemberg and prosecutors in Stuttgart, investigators believe a detained Turkish citizen organized the attack. Eight mobile phones and ammunition were seized during a search.
Two other Turkish citizens were arrested in Baden-Württemberg in October in connection with the same case and are currently facing extradition proceedings. Investigators allege that the third suspect instructed the other two men to set fire to the Starlink station in Poland. He has been charged with organizing a terrorist attack.
Polish authorities believe Russian intelligence services were behind the attack on the Starlink facility, which provides communications support — including for the Ukrainian military. Der Spiegel, citing sources in several countries, reported that investigators suspect the Turkish criminal group Daltons (Daltonlar) may have carried out the act of sabotage on orders from Moscow.
The gang’s suspected leader, Beratcan Gökdemir, was detained in Russia in 2024. Turkey sought his extradition, but German intelligence officials said Russian authorities later released him and placed him under their protection. It remains unclear whether Gökdemir is still in Russia.
In late October, Lithuanian police said they had established a connection between arson attacks on Starlink equipment in Lithuania, Bulgaria and Poland. Investigators said the same two men carried out the attacks in Lithuania and Bulgaria, and that the perpetrators of the arson in Poland were also linked to them.
