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German Arrested on Suspicion of Passing Secrets German Accused of Passing Secrets, and Fingers Point at U.S.
(about 2 hours later)
BERLIN — A 31-year-old German man was arrested this week on suspicion of spying for a foreign power, and Chancellor Angela Merkel was informed on Thursday, her spokesman said. An official statement from the federal prosecutor’s office did not identify the country involved, but German media, quoting government sources, said that the man had confessed to passing information to the United States. BERLIN — The authorities in Germany have arrested a 31-year-old German man on suspicion of spying for a foreign power, in a case that may further strain already testy relations between Germany and the United States over intelligence issues.
Ms. Merkel talked to President Obama by phone late on Thursday, her spokesman Steffen Seibert said. Mr. Seibert would not say if the spying case was mentioned during the call. The daily Süddeutsche Zeitung said that the German man, an employee of the Federal Intelligence Service, which routinely deals with foreign intelligence matters, was originally arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia, which German intelligence officials say has markedly stepped up recruitment of German informants in recent months. An official statement from the German federal prosecutor’s office about the arrest did not identify the foreign country involved, but German news media reported, quoting government sources, that the man had confessed to passing information to the United States.
Citing unidentified government sources, the newspaper — and two public broadcasters with which it forms an investigative reporting unit — said the arrested man had then admitted that he had been approached several times by United States agents, and had passed information on at least one occasion. Chancellor Angla Merkel was informed of the arrest on Thursday, her spokesman said. The chancellor spoke to President Obama by phone late on Thursday, and the spokesman, Steffen Seibert, would not say whether the spying case came up during the call; a brief White House statement about the conversation made no mention of it and a spokesman, Caitlin Hayden, declined to comment.
There was no immediate confirmation from other government sources or from the prosecutor’s office about those claims. A statement from the general prosecutor said the man was detained on Wednesday by officers from the Federal Criminal Office, the most senior police authority in Germany. The daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung said that the suspect was an employee of the Federal Intelligence Service, which routinely deals with foreign intelligence matters. The paper said the man was at first suspected of spying for Russia, which German intelligence officials say has markedly stepped up recruitment of German informants.
On Thursday, the man appeared before a federal court in Karlsruhe, where the federal prosecutor’s office is, and was ordered held “on urgent suspicion” of unauthorized intelligence activities, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. Citing unidentified government officials, the newspaper and the two public broadcasters who team up with it on investigative projects said the arrested man had told the authorities he was approached several times by American agents and passed information to them on at least one occasion.
Word of the arrest came just a day after two Americans who once worked for the National Security Agency testified to a German parliamentary inquiry about the monitoring of electronic data by the United States. Relations between Washington and Berlin have been tense since last summer, when a news weekly, Der Spiegel, reported that the National Security Agency was monitoring the electronic data of millions of Germans. The magazine cited some of the documents from the trove of the former security contractor Edward J. Snowden. German media outlets have continued to dribble out related revelations in recent months.
Earlier Thursday, a 27-year-old student became the first German after Ms. Merkel to be identified as a target for American eavesdropping. Last October, relations between Washington and Berlin suffered a severe jolt when it became clear that a cellphone Ms. Merkel used had been monitored. When it emerged last October that Ms. Merkel’s cellphone had been tapped by the N.S.A., a furor erupted. Since then the German government has been under pressure to secure a new agreement with the United States that would curb or at least regulate American intelligence activity in Germany, where the history of Nazi and Communist regimes makes people particularly sensitive to any state snooping on citizens.
The German Parliament is conducting an inquiry into the N.S.A.'s activities in the country, and it heard its first testimony on Thursday from two Americans who formerly worked for the agency. That testimony came hours after a 27-year-old student in Bavaria was identified by name as one of the spy agency’s surveillance targets, the first German other than Ms. Merkel to be named in that way.
The testimony on Thursday lasted late into the evening, delayed in part by an extraordinary meeting between the inquiry panel and the control commission that oversees Germany’s intelligence services. The lawmakers were apparently informed of the arrest of the accused spy at that meeting; attendees at such sessions are sworn to secrecy.
Part of the hearing was conducted in closed session after one of the American witnesses, William E. Binney, said he would be discussing sensitive secret information with the panel.
There was no immediate confirmation from the German government or the prosecutor’s office concerning the reports that the arrested man had been spying for the United States. A statement from the general prosecutor said he was detained on Wednesday by officers from the federal criminal office, the most senior police authority in Germany. It did not give details about his occupation.
On Thursday, the suspect appeared before a federal court in Karlsruhe, where the federal prosecutor’s office is located, and was ordered held “on urgent suspicion” of unauthorized intelligence activities, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Hans-Christian Ströbele, a Green member of Parliament who sits on both the intelligence oversight body and the N.S.A. inquiry panel, said he had “no reason to deny” the published reports he had seen on Friday about the spy case. But he and the head of the inquiry panel, Patrick Sensburg of the Christian Democratic party, each counseled caution.
Mr. Sensburg said by telephone that “some reports are simply false.” And Mr. Ströbele, a veteran lawmaker who traveled to Moscow last fall to meet with Mr. Snowden, said on Friday, “We must have patience and see whether information stands up to scrutiny.”
“It would be good to have a very quick reaction from across the Atlantic,” he added, though he noted that on the Fourth of July, Americans “have every reason to do something else.”