Germany arrests 3 Turks on spying allegations

German prosecutors say three Turkish nationals have been arrested in Germany over allegations of spying.

The Federal Prosecutors’ Office in the German city of Karlsruhe said in a statement on Thursday that two of the suspects had been arrested at Frankfurt Airport a day earlier, while the third was being held in custody at his home in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The statement identified the three suspects as 58-year-old Muhammed Taha G., 33-year-old Göksel G., and 58-year-old Ahmet Duran Y.

The prosecutors also said Muhammed Taha G. is accused of leading the activities of the other two suspects in spying on Turkish nationals residing in Germany on behalf of a Turkish intelligence service.

According to the prosecutors, arrest warrants had been issued on November 11.

The suspects appeared before a judge on Thursday and were ordered to be taken into custody pending a possible indictment.

In August, Turkey summoned Germany’s ambassador and demanded an explanation on a report by a German magazine that said Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, the BND, considers Turkey a target for intelligence gathering. German officials reportedly said they had not approved the report.

Germany has a large minority of people with Turkish origins. According to a 2011 census published by the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden, some 1.5 million Turkish citizens live in Germany, making them by far the biggest group of foreign nationals in the European country.