UPDATE 2 - Far-right extremist arrested for plans on darknet platform to kill German politicians

​​​​​​​ADDS REPORTS FORMER CHANCELLORS MERKEL, SCHOLZ ON HIT LIST, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, MINOR EDITS

By Anadolu staff

BERLIN (AA) - German police arrested a far-right extremist on suspicion of running a darknet platform that demanded attacks on politicians and offered cryptocurrency bounties for their killings, authorities said Tuesday.

Martin S., a dual German-Polish national, was detained Monday in the western city of Dortmund, according to the Federal Prosecutor's Office. Public broadcaster ARD reported that he had ties to the far-right Reich Citizens movement, citing security sources.

Prosecutors said the 49-year-old had been operating an anonymous darknet platform since at least June where he published lists of names and self-proclaimed death sentences against politicians and prominent public figures.

The platform contained bomb-making instructions and sensitive personal data of potential victims, said prosecutors. Martin S. allegedly solicited cryptocurrency donations to be offered as "bounties" for killing the targeted individuals.

Federal prosecutors said there was a strong suspicion that the suspect committed terrorism financing, provided instructions for committing serious acts of violence endangering the state and engaged in dangerous distribution of personal data.

Authorities did not disclose which politicians or officials were targeted on the platform or how much cryptocurrency was donated.

But the Spiegel news portal reported that the hit list included more than 20 people, among them former chancellors Angela Merkel and Olaf Scholz, as well as judges, prosecutors and former government ministers.

The suspect had previously shared social media posts attacking Merkel and Scholz for their pro-immigration policies and their handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the report.​​​​​​​