Police hunt suspected power-grid saboteur in Germany

A large police operation is under way in western Germany as officers search Hambach Forest for a 48-year-old man suspected of a series of power-grid sabotage attacks.

Police searched the man’s home on Friday, but he remains at large. The search has now centered on the extensive forest in North Rhine-Westphalia, where authorities believe he may be hiding. Police have asked the public to report anything they may have seen or heard. The suspect was last seen on a bicycle.

German media have described the man as a climate activist. The alleged sabotage attacks took place in several parts of the country. Bild reported that the affected states share a connection to mining and lignite extraction.

After an attack on a transformer station in Brandenburg earlier this week, local police received a letter in which the 48-year-old allegedly claimed responsibility. Authorities consider the letter genuine, and it was signed with his name and address. Focus reported that he sent another letter claiming responsibility for additional attacks.

“Fossil fuels are a crime that causes endless suffering,” the man wrote. Hambach Forest has long been a focus of conflict in North Rhine-Westphalia. Large parts of the forest were cleared from the mid-1970s to make way for an open-cast coal mine. Since 2012, activists have occupied sections of the remaining natural area, now estimated at about 500 hectares.

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Fossil fuels are a crime that causes endless suffering