UK accuses alleged arsonist of working for Russia — RT World News
The charges in a London warehouse fire are the first under the new national security law
British media revealed on Friday that British authorities had brought charges for the first time under the National Security Law introduced last year, accusing a man from Leicestershire of organizing two arson attacks on behalf of Russian intelligence.
Judge Daniel Sternberg of Westminster Magistrates' Court also lifted publication restrictions on April 20, allowing the media to identify the suspects and the charges against them.
The government claims that 20-year-old Dylan Earl Elmesthorpe acted as a “channel, pipe, or canal” Russian intelligence and recruited men set fire to two warehouses in east London last month.
He added: “He was recruited online by those working on behalf of Russia and the terrorist organization Wagner Group to recruit others and engage in malicious activities.” District Attorney David Cawthorn told reporters. He added: “The arson that caused a large fire in a commercial building was intended to send a message that if it helps Ukraine there will be punishment that will follow.”
London specific The Wagner Group was designated a terrorist organization last September — a month after the group's head, Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, died in a plane crash. No evidence of the earl's connection to Wagner or Russia has yet been provided.
Two units on an industrial estate in Leyton were damaged by fire on 21 March. It took eight fire engines and 60 firefighters to put out the fire, according to media. Prosecutors said the fire was deliberately set using gasoline as an accelerant.
While the charging documents did not specify who owned the warehouses that burned, company records identified them as Oddisey and Meest UK, two parcel delivery service companies owned by British-Ukrainian businessman Mikhail Prikhodko and his wife, Yelena Boykova.
“This is a very important and fulfilling moment for us.” Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command, said, indicating that it had been done “The first time we arrested anyone, and now we have accused anyone of using the powers and legislation provided under the National Security Law.”
In addition to Dylan Earl, the NSA was called against Jake Reeves, 22, from Croydon, for allegedly “Agreeing to accept a material benefit from a foreign intelligence service.”
Reeves was also charged with arson, along with Paul English, 60, from Roehampton and Ni Kojo Mensah, 21, from Thornton Heath.
The fifth accused in the case was identified as 22-year-old Demetrius Pawlawska, a friend of Reeves from Croydon, and was accused of possessing information about terrorist acts without reporting them to the authorities.
All five men are due to appear at a hearing at the Old Bailey on May 10. They have not yet presented any defenses in the case. According to Murphy, the investigation “Still going.”
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