BERLIN: A 50-year old Afghan-German dual national who worked for the German military was detained on Tuesday on suspicion of passing data to an Iranian intelligence agency, Germany’s federal prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday.

The suspect, identified only as Abdul Hamid S., will go before a judge later, the prosecutor’s office said.

“Abdul Hamid S. is strongly suspected of having worked for a foreign intelligence agency. The suspect was a language expert and cultural adviser for the Bundeswehr [German armed forces]. In this capacity, he is believed to have passed insights to an Iranian intelligence agency,” it said in a statement.

A spokesman for the German defence ministry said it was aware of an espionage case involving a member of the military, but gave no further details.

German news magazine Der Spiegel reported that the suspect had access to sensitive information in his role with the military, including possible data on troop deployments in Afghanistan.

The German military often uses native-born interpreters to accompany troops on patrol in Afghanistan.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2019