The case has the makings of a spy thriller: conspiratorial meetings, photos of secret documents, attempts at concealment in prison.
No laptop, no cell phone, even a wristwatch or your own pens are not allowed into the courtroom. Because it involves treason and state secrets, the strictest security precautions apply to the trial before the Berlin Court of Appeal.
In the middle of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, an employee of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) is said to have spied for Moscow. Almost a year ago, the news shocked politicians and authorities just before Christmas. The BND employee, who has been sworn to secrecy since 2007, has been in court since Wednesday. The co-defendant is a Russian-born businessman.
Treason committed for “agent’s wages”?
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office accuses them of treason in a particularly serious case. 53-year-old Carsten L. and his alleged accomplice Arthur E. (32) are said to have revealed secret information to the Russian secret service FSB in autumn 2022. According to the indictment, they received an “agent’s wage” of 450,000 euros or 400,000 euros. The two Germans are in custody in the prison in Berlin-Moabit.
In the courtroom they sit next to each other, a little apart, in a glass box behind their lawyers. There is no visible contact.
Prohibited exchanges in prison
In the prison, however, the defendants are said to have exchanged information in writing with the help of an assistant. The responsible 6th Criminal Senate therefore sees, in addition to the risk of escape, also a risk of blackout and has expanded the existing arrest warrant accordingly, as the presiding judge Detlev Schmidt announced during the trial.
While Carsten L. has so far remained silent about the allegations, his alleged accomplice is said to have made extensive statements. From the perspective of the BND employee’s defense attorney, Johannes Eisenberg, these are “very fluctuating statements” and that the 32-year-old is an “unreliable person.” “There is no objective evidence whatsoever that the treason in question occurred,” Eisenberg said in a statement distributed on Wednesday.
During the forbidden correspondence in prison, L. is said to have asked the co-defendant to withdraw all statements. Then “the matter is quickly off the table – otherwise eight years and plus,” Judge Schmidt quoted from a letter that was found in prison on November 25th. The court assumes that L. is the author of the document.
Internal documents printed out and photographed
According to the indictment, the BND employee and the businessman, who traded in precious stones, among other things, have known each other since May 2021. The soldier and his alleged accomplice are said to have decided to betray secrets by September 2022 at the latest. According to the investigation in September and October 2022, the 53-year-old is said to have printed out nine internal BND documents at his workplaces in Berlin and Pullach near Munich or photographed them from the work computer and passed them on to the businessman. He is said to have offered the BND employee the prospect of participating in an ore mining project.
There are said to have been two handovers. One at a sports field at the duty station in Pullach, Bavaria; another in Berlin, where L. had an apartment. The businessman is said to have acted as a middleman and handed the documents to the Russian secret service FSB in Moscow. He is said to have traveled to Moscow three times.
A Russian entrepreneur is said to have played a key role in the case, which is one of the most spectacular espionage cases in recent years. He is said to have brokered contact with the FSB. According to the indictment, he also booked and financed the businessman’s air travel. According to investigators, he is being investigated in a separate case.
Exclusion from the public due to confidentiality
However, senior public prosecutor Lars Malskies initially did not provide any further details when the indictment was read out. After almost 20 minutes, he interrupted his presentation and requested that the public be excluded because the indictment contained information that required special secrecy.
The defense criticized this sharply. “You should stop keeping secrets,” said Johannes Eisenberg, lawyer for the BND employee. In order for the public to evaluate the case, a public hearing is necessary. Giuseppe Olivio, defense attorney for the co-accused businessman, added: “What is supposed to be kept secret here is already an open secret for other countries.”
Negotiations subsequently took place behind closed doors about how to proceed with this issue. Judge Schmidt explained afterwards that this was very controversial. A number of aspects were mentioned that the Senate wanted and needed to think about in peace.
Process interrupted for consultation
The court therefore interrupted the trial after almost two and a half hours and wants to continue it this Thursday. By then it should be decided whether it will continue publicly or not.
According to court spokeswoman Lisa Jani, it is to be expected that this issue will continue to play a role because of a lot of information that is classified as secret. There are initially 51 days of negotiations scheduled until July 17, 2024. But it could well be that the process goes beyond the summer, says Jani.