Germany investigates a possible “influence from abroad” in the wave of attacks / the one in Mannheim, searched on the Internet by Russian accounts before occurring
The colleagues of the dead policeman in Mannheim bring him one last tribute, photo: Peter Henrich / Hen-Foto / Imago Stock & People / Profimedia
Germany announced on Monday that it is investigating a possible foreign influence in a series of recent attacks, after the press reported that actors from Russia could have played a role in some of them, AFP reports.
The series of attacks on account of asylum seekers in the last 12 months, including stabs and entrances to vehicles, have led to a fierce debate on migration before the European elections in June 2024 and during the period prior to the German general elections in February 2025.
In one of the cases, an Afghan man is tried after he stabbed several people at an anti-Islam demonstration that took place in Mannheim in May 2024. A police officer was killed and several other people were injured.
According to information transmitted on Sunday by the German public television ZdF, Russian accounts from the online space made searching for the Mannheim attack before it actually occurred.
A spokesman from the German Ministry of Internal Affairs did not want to comment on the information transmitted by the ZDF, but said that the Government is investigating “possible indications of targeted influence from abroad” in connection with attacks and that the problem “is taken seriously”.
The German security authorities carry out “ongoing checks,” he said, even though so far “there are no clear indications” of foreign influence.
According to ZDF, Russian accounts made searches with the phrase “terrorist attack in Mannheim” four days before stabs. Other searches in Russia were “attack in Germany” and “Michael Stuerzenberger”, the name of a prominent critic of Islam that was injured in Mannheim.
In the material, ZDF also claims that suspicious online activity was identified during the period prior to a fire caused by a DHL parcel that exploded at Leipzig airport in July.
Anonymous sources in the Security sector told the Funke Press Group that “due to algorithms, no safe statements can be made about the exact moment when searching for the Mannheim attack”.
However, Konstantin von Notz, parliamentarian of green and security expert, that “it is quite obvious that (…) The evaluation and analysis of these digital evidence can be an important stone for the proximity to the truth.”
