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Germany spied on FBI, US arms companies: Report

The new headquarters of Germany's Federal Intelligence Agency, known by its acronym BND (AP)

Germany’s foreign intelligence service (BND) has been accused of spying on a long list of targets including friendly nations and agencies, including the FBI, US arms companies, and UN Children’s Fund.

According to a report aired on RBB Inforadio, a German public radio station, on Wednesday, the BND also spied on French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and the World Health Organization.

The list also mentioned a number of German individuals, including a German national who was the head of the EU’s observer mission in Georgia from 2008 to 2011 and a senior diplomat in Brussels.

“Many European and American companies, including weapons makers such as Lockheed of the United States” were also among the targets, said the radio broadcast.

Last week, the German weekly Der Spiegel published a report claiming that the BND had spied on email addresses and phone conversations of senior officials and organizations from US, UK, France, Switzerland, Greece, the Vatican, and several European countries, and even the Red Cross.

The reports are yet to be confirmed by the German government, but a government spokeswoman, Christiane Wirtz, said that, "The facts behind these various press reports will be comprehensively investigated and of course the chancellery is involved in this investigation." 

If proven, such claims will be in direct contradiction with a 2013 declaration by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "Spying among friends, that's just wrong," Merkel had said.    

The statement was made following claims by whistleblower Edward Snowden that NSA was spying on Merkel’s cell phone.

The NSA has been under fire for its mass spying programs since Snowden began leaking documents in 2013.


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