Story highlights
Man working for Germany's domestic security agency arrested
He is accused of sharing protected information online
An employee of Germany’s intelligence agency has been arrested for allegedly sharing protected materials and making Islamist statements online.
The man, a German citizen, offered to pass on sensitive information about the agency to people he met online.
“The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has succeeded in uncovering a suspected Islamist among its staff,” said Stefan Mayer, the organization’s spokesman.
“He is accused of expressing himself under a false name in Islamist terms on the internet, and to have surrendered internal information in internet chats.”
Mayer said that so far “there is no evidence that there is a real risk to the safety of the Federal Office and its employees.”
Little information was given about the suspect other than that he is “an older German citizen” who was recently hired by the agency.
Islamism
Earlier this month, German authorities banned an Islamist organization they said was responsible for inspiring more than 140 youths to join the conflict in Syria.
Federal Police in September said 800 German nationals had traveled to Syria to join the conflict.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel in July vowed to boost security and improve counter-terrorism measures following three attacks allegedly carried out by refugees. Merkel has come under criticism for her open-door refugee policy, which saw more than a million asylum-seekers enter the country in 2015.
Germany has banned several Islamist associations in recent years, including ISIS in 2014 and the jihadist group Tauhid Germany in 2015.
CNN’s James Griffiths contributed reporting.
