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The Canadian porn actor suspected of murdering and dismembering a Chinese student in Canada before fleeing to Europe was to be brought before a judge in Berlin on Tuesday, a day after his arrest, as authorities kicked off the process of seeking his extradition.
Luka Magnotta, 29, was arrested on Monday at an Internet cafe in a working-class district of the German capital, where he had been reading media coverage of himself. A cafe employee recognized Magnotta from a newspaper photo and flagged down a police car.
Magnotta was being held at a police detention facility in Berlin and was to be brought later on Tuesday before a judge for a decision on a formal detention order, which would keep him in custody while proceedings continue. Such hearings must be held by the end of the day following a suspect's arrest in Germany, and always take place behind closed doors.
Once a detention order is issued, German authorities can contact their Canadian counterparts regarding extradition proceedings, police spokesman Klaus Schubert said.
Magnotta is wanted by Canadian authorities on suspicion of killing Lin Jun, a 33-year-old man he dated, and mailing his body parts to two of Canada's top political parties before fleeing to Europe.
They say Magnotta filmed the murder of the Chinese student in his Montreal studio apartment and posted it online. The video shows a man with an ice pick stabbing another naked, bound man, in what police called a horrifying video.
In Germany, surveillance camera footage of the Internet cafe, obtained by The Associated Press, showed Magnotta casually walking in to the shop at noon local time, wearing jeans, a green hoodie sweater and sunglasses.
He briefly spoke to the Internet cafe's desk person, then walked off to his assigned computer with the number 25, where he would later be spotted reading the news about his case.
About two hours later, seven German police officers are seen walking into the shop, without any haste.
On the camera footage, three police officers are seen accompanying the handcuffed Magnotta a couple of minutes after they entered the cafe. Magnotta calmly walks alongside them.
Police say he at first tried giving fake names but then conceded: "You got me."
Interpol on Monday highly commended international police cooperation resulting in the swift arrest in Berlin.
The Lyon-based Interpol circulated on Thursday the Red Notice in four languages to its 190 member countries after it was believed Magnotta had fled Canada for France.
Interpol Red Notices serve to communicate to police worldwide that a person is wanted by a member country and request that the suspect be placed under provisional arrest pending extradition.
（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）
About the broadcaster:
Emily Cheng is an editor at China Daily. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Media, English Literature and Politics. She has worked in the media industry since starting university and this is the third time she has settled abroad - she interned with a magazine in Hong Kong 2007 and studied at the University of Leeds in 2009.