Azerbaijan denies Der Spiegel report linking ex-BND chief August Hanning to its intelligence service, calling it a smear campaign aimed at harming ties with Germany
Europe
Azerbaijan’s Media and Broadcasting Council rejected reports that Hanning had been in contact with an Azerbaijani intelligence officer, calling the allegation “disinformation.”
German prosecutors say Hanning was arrested on suspicion of espionage and attempted treason after allegedly obtaining classified BND documents and using some of the information to prepare an analysis for an officer of an unnamed foreign intelligence service.
Der Spiegel identified the alleged foreign link as Azerbaijan, but German federal prosecutors have not confirmed the country involved.
