Employee of Berlin's judiciary investigated over tip-off to far-right conspiracist

Official allegedly gave Attila Hildmann information about an investigation into him

Police in Germany launch investigation into alleged tip-off given to conspiracy theorist Attila Hildmann, pictured, over a warrant for his arrest. AFP

An employee of Berlin's judiciary is suspected of leaking information about a criminal investigation into far-right conspiracist Attila Hildmann, who has fled to Turkey.

German prosecutors are investigating a suspected female mole who is accused of illicitly passing on information to the well-known conspiracy theorist, who has criticised government pandemic measures.

Mr Hildmann, a former vegan celebrity chef and vocal critic of shutdown restrictions and vaccines, who spread propaganda, is believed to have received information about an investigation against him from the suspect, leading him to flee the country prior to an arrest warrant being executed.

Berlin's top justice official Dirk Behrendt confirmed media reports of an investigation against a former employee from the local public prosecutor's office on allegations of failing in her duty to protect official secrets and attempted obstruction of justice.

The 32-year-old IT department staffer has since been dismissed but is not in custody.

"There has never been a comparable case in the Berlin justice system in my memory," Mr Behrendt said on Twitter.

"In addition to the criminal consequences for the former employee, the attorney general has already developed measures to make access to the procedures in the authorities more difficult and better recorded. Such a process must not be repeated."

He said the investigation was launched after the arrested warrant for Mr Hildmann was compromised.

Mr Hildmann, who has German and Turkish citizenship, has been under threat of criminal charges since last year, including incitement and resisting arrest.

He is believed to be in Turkey, which does not extradite its citizens.

Mr Hildmann has previously used social media to claim to his tens of thousands of followers that Angela Merkel was "worse than Hitler" as a result of the coronavirus restrictions her government imposed.

The alleged mole is believed to belong to the so-called Querdenker – which translates to Lateral Thinker – movement, which emerged last year as the loudest voice against the government's pandemic curbs.

Its large protests attracted a wide mix of people including vaccine sceptics, neo-Nazis and members of the far-right AfD party.

A public prosecutor's office spokesman said that the woman came to the authorities' attention because of her participation in such rallies and suspicious searches she had conducted in the office's databases.

Digital documents about the Hildmann case the suspect allegedly passed on to him were found in her apartment during a search in July.

She also reportedly visited Mr Hildmann in Turkey earlier this year.

In June, he was blocked from using Telegram after making statements claiming that vaccines were being used to poison children and suggesting that PCR tests were meant to implant secretive technology in people’s noses.

He was a leading figure in anti-lockdown protests that sprang up in Germany last year and were described as "hygiene demos".

The protests caused widespread concern in Germany, especially after marchers tried to storm the parliament building in Berlin last August.

On another occasion, Mr Hildmann described a Berlin museum as being the centre of a global conspiracy of “corona criminals”. He claimed the museum of ancient artefacts was home to a “Throne of Satan” where human sacrifices were conducted at night.