Man charged with spying for Egypt while working for Merkel

BERLIN: A man who worked in German Chancellor Angela Merkel's press office has been charged with spying for Egypt, prosecutors said Monday.

The German national, named as Amin A., began working for the visitor service of the federal government press office (BPA), headed by Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert, in 1999. "He used this position from at least July 2010 to support employees of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service (GIS) in obtaining information," prosecutors said in a statement. Born in Egypt, the man is accused of using his language skills and the resources available to him at the BPA to survey and compile reports on the German media, especially about domestic and foreign policy.