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Indian couple charged with espionage in Germany
BERLIN, April 9, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – An Indian married couple accused of
spying on Germany’s Sikh community and Kashmir movement have been charged
with espionage, German prosecutors announced on Tuesday.
They named the suspects only as 50-year-old Manmohan S. and his wife Kanwal
Jit K., 51, in keeping with German privacy rules for defendants.
“Manmohan S. agreed by January 2015 at the latest to provide information
about Germany’s Sikh community and Kashmir movement and their relatives to an
employee of the Indian foreign intelligence service Research & Analysis
Wing,” they said in a statement.
His wife joined him in monthly meetings with the Indian intelligence
officer between July and December 2017, and in total the couple were paid
7,200 euros ($8,100) for their work.
The charges, which can carry up to 10 years’ jail in serious cases, were
laid on March 28 but only publicised Tuesday by the federal prosecution
service in the city of Karlsruhe.
BSS/AFP/ARS/2027 hrs