Spy jailed for allowing gay lover to see German state secrets

Secret service tipped off by agent's wife

• Helen Pidd and agencies in Munich
• guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 26 May 2010 16.02 BST
• Article history

Anton Robert K (right) and Murat A, the translator who became his partner, in court. Photograph: Joerg Koch/AFP/Getty Images

A former German spy and his male lover were found guilty today of betraying state secrets and filing fraudulent expense claims during a covert mission to Kosovo.
German authorities were tipped off by the agent's wife after she discovered her husband – named in court only as Anton Robert K – was having an affair with his interpreter.
The 43-year-old lieutenant colonel in the BND was sentenced to two years and three months in prison, while his 29-year-old Macedonian partner, Murat A, was given a suspended 14-month sentence.
The pair met shortly after the spy was sent to the Kosovan capital of Pristina in 2005. He claimed to be a diplomat with the Germany foreign ministry, but his mission was to build a network of sources for the secret service.
Murat A, a bilingual salesman who was born in Germany, was one early contact. He soon became Anton K's translator and then partner after being given security clearance by the BND.
Prosecutors said the lover had been allowed to read classified documents as well as the agent's laptop during bedroom encounters in 2007 and 2008.
The court heard that Murat A, who was connected to organised crime and a foreign spy service, sought to sell the information, though no proof of this was presented at the trial.
The pair were also found guilty of filing fraudulent expense claims worth €14,700 (£12,500).
The crimes came to light at the end of 2007, when the agent argued with his wife in Germany, Spiegel reported. Looking for evidence of infidelity, the wife discovered her husband had removed her name from his life insurance policy and made his interpreter the beneficiary. Furious, she tipped off the BND.
The two men were recalled from Kosovo on false pretences in March 2008 and arrested in Munich. A judge bailed them after ruling there was not enough evidence to hold them, but they were re-arrested a year later as the inquiry gathered pace.
The two men, who are still a couple, denied all charges and said they were victims of a homophobic witch-hunt by the BND. "We didn't betray the state; the state betrayed us," said Anton K during the six-month trial.
The case is an enormous embarrassment for the BND, which must concede that one of its agents was out of control for years. It has also been criticised for bringing the case to court, potentially putting other contacts at risk, rather than sorting out the problem internally.
"The core of the affair is so ridiculous," Anton K's lawyer, Sascha Jung, told Spiegel. "It's a mystery to us as to why the BND would risk the damage potentially resulting from its actions."
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