Mr. E., prosecutors say, made three journeys from Germany to Russia in fall 2022. Assembly with operatives from the Russian company, the F.S.B., at a restaurant and an residence in Moscow, he’s accused of bringing them materials that was categorized as “prime secret” by German intelligence, a part of which originated from accomplice companies in different Western international locations. The Russian brokers in return gave him a listing of 12 questions. Throughout one dinner they’re mentioned to have handed Mr. E. 4 envelopes, taped shut and containing a whole lot of hundreds of euros in money.
Prosecutors accuse Mr. Linke of getting looked for particular extremely categorized materials utilizing databases and by placing in official requests together with his colleagues. Then, they are saying, he each printed out materials and photographed it from his display utilizing a cellphone Mr. E. had equipped and smuggled each via inside controls to the skin, the place he handed them to Mr. E.
Mr. E. was arrested in Florida a couple of weeks after the police arrested Mr. Linke in Berlin. Earlier than being accompanied to Germany, the place he was handed to the federal police, Mr. E. had given in depth interviews to the F.B.I.
The trial is being held below unusually stringent safety situations. Journalists are searched at two separate management factors. Computer systems, telephones, jewellery, and even pens will not be taken into the courtroom (the courtroom provides its personal pens for reporters). Even the chief justice of the courtroom, Detlev Schmidt, needed to take off his watch earlier than coming into. Contained in the courtroom are many yards of white shelving holding 49 thick binders: Judges and attorneys are usually not allowed to take the binders out of the courtroom, and photocopies and scans are usually not permitted to stop the knowledge contained inside from leaking.
Mr. Linke, a father of two and kids’s soccer coach, first entered the ornate early-Twentieth century courtroom on Wednesday. Sporting a darkish blue swimsuit, a lightweight blue button-down, an costly watch and a contemporary haircut, he sat within the glass prisoner field taking notes. As an intelligence employee, he had prime secret clearance for the 15 years he labored for the B.N.D. His final stint, which solely lasted a few months, was as director of the vetting division, which does background checks on newly employed employees.
