At around the same time he joined the far-Right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which advocates for trade with Russia.

He was arrested in August 2023, and has been held in custody since then.

Thomas H’s defence lawyer blamed his very poor psychological condition and “chronic overwork”. He added his client’s hard-earned career was in ruins after “four days of treason, when he crossed red lines”, dubbing his actions “four days of total failure”.

He said his client had been drawn into an obsessive spiral of “fake news … on TikTok and Telegram”, which gave him the push to contact the Russian consulate in Bonn in May 2023.

Thomas H himself said in a summary statement: “It’s the biggest mess I’ve ever made in my life.”

Before approaching the AfD, he had tried to contact the German Left Party, which also opposes Nato.

The troubled party, which recently split with its more pro-Russian wing, refused Thomas H’s advances due to doubts about his integrity, German press reported.