Second German Soldier Arrested Over Assassination Allegations

Library image of a Bundeswehr soldier, courtesy German Army.

A second German soldier has been arrested on suspicion of being part of an assassination plot against prominent political figures.

Prosecutors believe he was part of a plan to blame an attack on refugees.

A federal prosecutor's spokeswoman said Maximilian T, 27, was arrested in the south-western city of Kehl on Tuesday, on charges of preparing an act of violence.

A prosecutor's office statement said:

"The accused is strongly suspected of planning a severe act of violence against the state out of a right-wing extremist conviction."

Der Spiegel magazine said T, whose last name was not given in line with privacy laws, was a Bundeswehr soldier stationed at the same Franco-German brigade in Illkirch, just across the border from Kehl, with Lieutenant Franco A.

A government statement went on to say that Maximilian T covered for Lieutenant Franco A, who was arrested at the end of April while absent from his barracks.

It added that he had been posing as an asylum-seeker in Germany.