German Intelligence Officer Denies Russia Spying Charges

A former German intelligence officer on Wednesday denied spying for Russia, saying he had been trying to recruit his co-defendant as a potential source.

Berlin, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Apr, 2024) A former German intelligence officer on Wednesday denied spying for Russia, saying he had been trying to recruit his co-defendant as a potential source.

Carsten Linke and Arthur Eller are accused by prosecutors of working together with a Russian businessman to "procure sensitive information" from Germany's BND foreign intelligence and relay it to Russia's FSB.

But Linke told the court in Berlin that he met Eller through a friend and made his new acquaintance an offer to supply information to Germany's BND foreign intelligence.

Eller's activities in Africa and his high-profile contacts in the region made him an attractive potential recruit.

"This is exactly the clientele they are on the lookout for," said Linke.

Subsequently on a joint visit to a Berlin brothel, Eller told Linke of a contact in the "Russian security sector".

The contact was said to have detailed knowledge of Russian espionage efforts at Western embassies in Moscow.