Germany arrests Kazakh national suspected of spying for Russia

Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office has arrested a citizen of Kazakhstan on suspicion of espionage in favour of Russia in Berlin, according to German media.

The 47-year-old man is accused of acting as an agent for Russian intelligence and may also have been prepared to carry out potential acts of sabotage.

Investigators say the suspect mainly photographed various objects using his smartphone and sent the images to his contact in Russian intelligence. 

These included military convoys on highways, official vehicles belonging to politicians and security services, government buildings, and defence industry sites, primarily in Berlin.

Authorities noted that he likely only recorded publicly accessible locations, but said this does not exclude criminal liability for espionage.

In one case, military transport vehicles from another NATO country were also reportedly involved, which could fall under additional legal provisions related to the status of alliance forces.

By Jeyhun Aghazada