Munich – A treason trial against a former member of the German intelligence service BND got underway in Munich on Monday.
The public prosecution service has charged the man with espionage for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Russian secret service.
The 32-year-old defendant is said to have passed on secret documents and information in return for money between mid-May 2008 and 2014.
He however, was arrested in July 2014 and has since been in detention while awaiting trial.
He has been charged with treason, breach of official secrecy and accepting bribes.
Germany was so upset at the incident that it expelled the CIA station chief in Berlin several days after the mole’s arrest in July.
It was an act of diplomatic hostility unprecedented in the seven decades that the two nations have been the closest of allies.
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Chancellor Angela Merkel had earlier scolded Washington for wasting its effort by spying on an ally instead of dealing with the real threats of the 21st century. (dpa/NAN)
