Germany has summoned the US ambassador in Berlin after a man was arrested on suspicion of spying for the NSA.
The US diplomat “was asked to help in the swift clarification” of the case, the foreign ministry said.
German officials confirmed the arrest but released no other details.
US-German ties were strained after allegations last year that the NSA bugged Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone as part of a huge surveillance program.
The NSA bugged Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone as part of a huge surveillance program
The scale of the agency’s global spy program was revealed in documents leaked by Edward Snowden.
The revelations also raised feeling in Germany against American surveillance.
German media say the man arrested this week is a 31-year-old employee of the federal intelligence service, the BND or Bundesnachrichtendienst.
A spokesman for Angela Merkel said she had been informed of the arrest, as had the members of the nine-strong parliamentary committee investigating the activities of foreign intelligence agencies in Germany.
Der Spiegel news magazine said the man was believed to have passed secret documents to a US contact in exchange for money.
However, one unnamed politician told Reuters news agency the suspect had offered his services to the US voluntarily.
“This was a man who had no direct contact with the investigative committee… He was not a top agent,” the source said.
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Germany’s intelligence service has arrested one of its employees on suspicion of spying for the US, reports say.
The man is said to have been trying to gather details about a German parliamentary committee that is investigating claims of US espionage.
German authorities have asked the US ambassador for “swift clarification”.
The NSA was last year accused of bugging the phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel as part of a huge surveillance program.
The NSA was last year accused of bugging the phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel as part of a huge surveillance program
The scale of the NSA’s global spy program was revealed in documents leaked last year by Edward Snowden.
The revelations about the NSA put a strain on ties between Germany and the US and raised feeling in Germany against American surveillance.
According to the German media, the man arrested this week is a 31-year-old employee of the federal service, the BND or Bundesnachrichtendienst.
The German federal prosecutor’s office confirmed the man’s arrest, but gave no other details.
A spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel said she had been informed of the arrest, as had the members of the nine-strong parliamentary committee investigating the activities of foreign intelligence agencies in Germany.
Der Spiegel news magazine said the man was believed to have passed secret documents to a US contact in exchange for money.
However, one unnamed politician told Reuters the suspect had offered his services to the US voluntarily.
“This was a man who had no direct contact with the investigative committee… He was not a top agent,” the source said.
[youtube SGlypUwnRjw 650]
Mexico’s foreign ministry has strongly condemned alleged US spying after a report said that former President Felipe Calderon’s emails were hacked by the National Security Agency (NSA).
Data leaked by former NSA analyst Edward Snowden showed Mexico’s ex-President Felipe Calderon’s emails were hacked in 2010, Germany’s Der Spiegel reports.
Mexico’s foreign ministry said such spying was “unacceptable, illegal” and contrary to good relations.
It urged President Barack Obama to complete an investigation into the allegations.
Data leaked by former NSA analyst Edward Snowden showed Mexico’s ex-President Felipe Calderon’s emails were hacked in 2010
In an official statement, the Mexican foreign ministry said it would soon re-iterate the importance of such an investigation through diplomatic means.
“In a relationship between neighbors and partners, there is no place for the alleged practices,” the statement said.
Previous reports had already suggested the NSA had intercepted communications involving current President Enrique Pena Nieto before he took office in 2012 and Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff. Messages involving her aides and state oil company Petrobas were also said to have been compromised.
The revelations prompted a sharp response from Brazil, with the suspension of plans for a state visit by Dilma Rousseff to Washington next month.
The NSA is also alleged to have seen electronic data from other Latin American governments, including Venezuela and Ecuador.
At the G20 meeting in Russia last month, Barack Obama promised to investigate the allegations of espionage against Dilma Rousseff and her Mexican counterpart.
The allegations were also based on documents leaked by Edward Snowden.
A US federal court has since filed espionage charges against the former intelligence contractor and is seeking his extradition.
Edward Snowden is currently living in Russia where he has been granted temporary asylum.
