Too many state secrets for a public trial in Germany

The trial for the most serious espionage detected in the German secret services (BND) has begun at the Berlin Court of Appeal with the suspense of the best thriller. The hearing began an hour late due to tight security measures and was interrupted after about 20 very intense minutes.. The Attorney General's Office has asked the Court to consider closed-door hearings due to the load of confidential information that will come to light in the process.. The president of the chamber and very experienced judge, Detlef Schmidt, has accepted the request. Your decision will be transcendental.

Carsten L sits on the bench. a senior BND official, and, as an accomplice, the diamond merchant, Arthur E.. They are accused of treason and sale of state secrets to the Russian intelligence services (FSB). Both have been detained since last year in Moabit prison in separate modules.. They will also continue the trial separately, each in a glass cabin and separated from each other – and from their lawyers – by about two meters..

Carsten L., 53 years old, chose a dark blue jacket and light blue shirt for his first appearance.. He seemed like a businessman, but when asked about his profession, he responded with James Bond syntax: “Soldier.”. Professional soldier”. He had been in BND service since 2007, first on technical reconnaissance and more recently, before his arrest, as head of the sensitive personal security unit.

Arthur E., 32 years old, opted for a black shirt. He seemed unconcerned and even joked with his defense attorneys.. At this first hearing he has decided to remain silent. He has already testified during the interrogations and the court has scheduled 50 sessions, until next July.

A stony silence prevails when the attorney general, Lars Malskies, proceeds to read the indictment, which, suddenly, interrupts. Malskies considers that the details contained in the last pages of his writing are especially sensitive and asks that journalists and the public present in the room be excluded from these passages.. These are state secrets revealed to Russia in the fall of 2022, in the middle of the Ukrainian war.

Carsten L's defense lawyer. Johannes Eisenberg, protest. He wants to “end the secrecy” and keep the process open to the public at all costs. The information revealed, he claims, was not so sensitive. Eisenberg suspects that the investigation has been manipulated and flawed, and maintains that the other defendant, the diamond merchant, is an “imposter.”

The judge takes note of the parties' arguments and suspends the hearing. He wants to calmly reflect on the matter, “Everything must be completely secure, not even the slightest security breach must be left open,” he explains.

Before leaving, the magistrate takes a piece of paper from a folder on the table.. It is a letter from Carsten La Arthur E. intercepted by prison authorities. The text is clear: “It is about destroying evidence,” he says. And read “you were never with the FSB, you never received money”. In his message, Carsten L. He suggests that he declare that he was pressured by the CIA and the FBI, that American authorities wanted to expose the BND.

The Prosecutor's Office considers it proven that a German spy delivered secret documents to Arthur E.. and that he received money in exchange, but fears that they are coordinating their statements.

The plot of this thriller has leaked just enough. Apparently, the accused met by chance at a party in Weilheim, the Bavarian headquarters of the BND.. The BND employee would have spoken openly about his work to the trader, who is now known to have been born in Russia, has a German passport and allegedly has contacts in the FSB..

In September and October 2022, the trader met several times in Moscow with Russian agents and, allegedly, in one of those meetings, the FSB gave him a list of questions of special interest, most of them referring to the delivery of weapons systems. Americans and Germans to Ukraine. Carsten L. responded to those questions, including data on the technical means used by the BND and other Western services to capture communications from the Wagner mercenary group. He received, in exchange, 450,000 euros. Arthur E. received an envelope with 400,000 euros in cash in Moscow.

Carsten L. He was arrested on December 21, 2022 and the businessman on January 22, 2023 on the basis of arrest warrants issued by the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice. He maintains that everything is a setup to discredit the BND of the US CIA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He argues in his defense that the data carriers confiscated from his accomplice by these services during a visit to the United States were not delivered to the German authorities in their original form.

This is a fundamental issue that Judge Schmidt will spend time on before handing down sentences that could range from five years to life in prison.