Germany summons US ambassador over spy arrest
“The move follows new allegations that an employee of the
German intelligence service spied for the United States.”
Germany summoned the US ambassador in Berlin on Friday
following the arrest of a man reported to have spied for the
United States, heightening friction between the two countries
over US eavesdropping in Germany.
US Ambassador John B. Emerson was called in “in connection
with an investigation by the federal prosecutor,” the German
Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The US envoy “was asked to
help in the swift clarification” of the case, it added.
Federal prosecutors say a 31-year-old German man was arrested
on Wednesday on suspicion of spying for foreign intelligence
services. They did not identify the suspect or the intelligence
services.
German government spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters
that Chancellor Angela Merkel been personally informed of the
arrest.
He declined to comment on reports by Der Spiegel magazine and
the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung that the man worked for
Germany’s foreign intelligence service, known by its German
acronym BND.
The newspapers said the man was suspected of passing on
information about a German parliamentary committee
investigating the activities of US and other intelligence agencies
in Germany. He worked with US intelligence since 2012, they
reported.
Seibert said members of the parliamentary panel had also been
informed of the arrest.
Heightened tensions
Reports that the National Security Agency spied on German
citizens, including on Merkel’s mobile phone, have caused friction
between Berlin and Washington since they were first published
last year, based on documents leaked by former NSA contractor
Edward Snowden.
Martina Renner, a member of the opposition Left Party on the
parliamentary panel, said the case indicated that anyone who
examined Snowden’s revelations in detail was subject to scrutiny
by US intelligence agencies.
Her panel heard testimony Thursday from two former NSA
employees,Thomas Drake and William Binney.
“If the media reports [about the case] are confirmed then there
can’t just be a legal response, there also has to be a political
response,” she said.
In his testimony, Drake said that cooperation between the NSA
and Germany’s BND greatly increased after the 9/11 attacks in
the US. He described the German spy agency as an “appendage”
of the NSA.
Seibert said Merkel discussed “foreign policy matters” in a
telephone conversation with President Barack Obama late
Thursday. He said the conversation focused on Ukraine but
wouldn’t say whether the arrest was also discussed.
The US National Security Council declined to comment and BND
did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Source: AP
