Baku lodged a protest with Germany’s chancellery and foreign ministry after Der Spiegel reported a possible link between August Hanning and Azerbaijani intelligence. German authorities have not named the country that may have been the intended recipient of classified information.
Azerbaijan’s APA news agency reported the protest, citing diplomatic sources. The country’s Media and Broadcasting Council described the report as disinformation and part of a smear campaign.
Hanning, who led Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, the BND, from 1998 to 2005, was arrested on Oct. 6 on suspicion of espionage and treason. A court ordered him held in pretrial detention the following day. His former aide is also under investigation on suspicion of assisting him.
Prosecutors allege that Hanning agreed in 2010 to obtain intelligence for transfer to third parties. About 2,000 documents were involved, some of them classified, according to the investigation. Der Spiegel reported that some information may have been intended for Azerbaijani intelligence. That remains an investigative theory and a media report. German authorities have not confirmed Azerbaijan as the alleged recipient.