A German court on Thursday sentenced a former employee of an information technology security company to two years in prison. The man had passed on important information from the German parliament to Russia. He was also an officer in the army of communist East Germany in the past.
The 56-year-old, Jens F., was on trial for “espionage for a foreign power.” In 2017, the German handed a CD containing more than 300 plans for the buildings of the Bundestag to an employee of the Russian Embassy. The employee is suspected of being a member of the GRU.
The German magazine Der Spiegel notes the remarkable political past of Jens F. While serving as an officer in the army of the former German Democratic Republic, F. was also said to have been active as a civilian informant for the famous East German security service Stasi.
According to the man’s lawyer, Friedrich Hemke, the prosecution’s accusations focus too much on his client’s past in former communist East Germany. According to him, there was no concrete evidence that F. Documents released to Russia.
In the end, the man was given a two-year suspended prison sentence. He did not accept a proposal for a reduced sentence if he pleaded guilty.
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