German court convicts Sudanese man of espionage

May 8, 2008 (BERLIN) — A Sudanese man was convicted by a court on Thursday of spying on human rights organizations and Sudanese opposition groups in Germany for his country’s intelligence service.

The Berlin state court said in a statement that the 40-year-old, whom it did not identify, was given a 1 1/2-year suspended sentence for espionage, and it ordered his release. However, the court also put him on three years’ probation.

The court said it decided to put the defendant on probation because he had offered a confession at his trial and already had spent six months in detention awaiting trial.

In its ruling, the court said that from at least August 2006 until his arrest in October 2007, the man worked for Sudan’s National Security and Intelligence Bureau, keeping up “regular and intensive contact” with the intelligence service’s resident at the Sudanese Embassy in Berlin.

It said he gathered and handed over information on human rights groups working from Germany and active in Sudan, and also spied on Sudanese opposition groups in Germany.

The court did not appear to take any steps to guarantee the Sudanese man would remain in Germany during his three-year probation.

(AP)