Germany arrests suspected Moroccan spy

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Germany arrests suspected Moroccan spy

8:10 CAT | 15 Nov 2022

A Moroccan national was arrested in Germany on Monday on suspicion of spying on supporters of a Moroccan protest movement, federal prosecutors said.

Police officers detained the accused, identified only as Mohamed A., in the Cologne area and searched his home, according to a statement from the prosecutors’ office in Karlsruhe.

The suspect is “strongly suspected” of having worked for Moroccan intelligence services, they wrote.

German prosecutors allege that at some point between April 2021 and March 2022, the accused agreed to spy on supporters of the so-called Hirak protest movement living in Germany, in return for money.

“He shared information on at least one person,” they added.

The accused was brought before a judge on Monday who remanded him in custody.

The Al-Hirak al-Shaabi (“Popular Movement”) emerged in northern Morocco’s Rif region in 2016 following anger over the death of a fishmonger crushed by a garbage truck as he tried to recover swordfish seized by police.

It sparked protests to demand development in the long-marginalised Berber region.

The mass protests led to hundreds of arrests, with Hirak leader Nasser Zefzafi given 20 years for “plotting to undermine the security of the state”.

Source: AFP