Germany: Ex-spy chief sent to pretrial detention

August Hanning has been remanded into pretrial detention after his arrest. The case has prompted calls for transparency when spies leave the government.

https://p.dw.com/p/5NtQi Germany's ex-spy chief August Hanning appeared at the Federal District Court in Karlsruhe on Wednesday Image: Uli Deck/dpa/picture alliance Advertisement Former German foreign intelligence agency boss August Hanning appeared before a federal judge in the western city of Karlsruhe on Wednesday following his arrest on espionage and treason charges Tuesday.

He has been ordered to remain in detention ahead of his trial, according to federal prosecutors.

Manfred D., Hanning's former chief of staff at the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) , was also detained.

Manfred D. is accused of having stolen secret documents and turned these over to Hanning, who, as a private-sector security adviser, in turn reportedly sold the secret documents to an as yet unnamed foreign spy agency or agencies.