Indian couple charged with espionage in Germany

AFP  |  Berlin 

An Indian married couple accused of spying on Germany's Sikh community and 'movement' have been charged with espionage, German prosecutors announced on Tuesday.

They named the suspects only as 50-year-old Manmohan S. and his wife K., 51, in keeping with German privacy rules for defendants.

"Manmohan S. agreed by January 2015 at the latest to provide information about Germany's Sikh community and movement and their relatives to an employee of the Indian foreign intelligence service Research & Analysis Wing," they said in a statement.

His wife joined him in monthly meetings with the between July and December 2017, and in total the couple were paid 7,200 euros (USD8,100) for their work.

The charges, which can carry up to 10 years' jail in serious cases, were laid on March 28 but only publicised Tuesday by the in the city of Karlsruhe.

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First Published: Tue, April 09 2019. 20:35 IST