German spy officer is on trial for selling secrets to Russia

According to prosecutors, Mr. E. made three trips from Germany to Russia in the fall of 2022. During a meeting with agents of the Russian service, the FSB, at a restaurant and an apartment in Moscow, he is accused of bringing them material classified as “top secret” by German intelligence, some of which came from partner agencies in other western countries. The Russian agents in turn gave him a list of twelve questions. During a dinner they allegedly handed Mr. E. four sealed envelopes containing hundreds of thousands of euros in cash.

Prosecutors accuse Mr. Linke of searching for specific top-secret material using databases and submitting official requests to his colleagues. Then, they say, he both printed out material and photographed it from his screen using a phone Mr. E. had provided and smuggled both out through internal controls, where he handed them to Mr. E.

Mr. E. was arrested in Florida a few weeks after police arrested Mr. Linke in Berlin. Before being escorted to Germany, where he was handed over to the federal police, Mr. E. had given extensive interviews to the FBI

The process takes place under unusually strict security conditions. Journalists are searched at two separate checkpoints. Computers, phones, jewelry, and even pens are not allowed into the courtroom (the court provides its own pens for reporters). Even the court’s chief judge, Detlev Schmidt, had to take off his watch before entering. In the courtroom there are many meters of white shelves containing 49 thick binders: judges and lawyers are not allowed to remove the binders from the courtroom, and photocopies and scans are not allowed to prevent the information contained within from leaking.

Mr Linke, father of two children and children’s football coach, entered the ornate courtroom from the early 20th century for the first time on Wednesday. Dressed in a dark blue suit, a light blue button-down, an expensive watch and a fresh haircut, he sat in the glass prison box taking notes. As an intelligence worker, he had top secret clearance during the fifteen years he worked for the BND. His last stint, which lasted just a few months, was as director of the vetting department, which conducts background checks on newly hired staff.