German citizen charged with spying for Syria

A German court in Berlin is to try a German citizen of Lebanese origin on charges of espionage. The 60-year old man is accused of spying on behalf of the Syrian intelligence services.

According to state investigators, the accused was ordered to spy on meetings of the Syrian opposition in the German capital. Information gleaned was then passed to his contacts in Syria over a number of months between 2011 and February 2012.

A Syrian national involved in the same espionage scam was sentenced in December 2012 to three years imprisonment by the Berlin court.