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British ex-embassy guard admits spying for Russia in Germany

A British security guard at the UK's embassy in Germany has pleaded guilty to violating the Official Secrets Act after he passed information to Russia, officials said Friday.

Published: 11 November 2022 17:39 CET
British Embassy in Berlin
The Union Jack flies at half mast outside the British Embassy in Berlin. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Jörg Carstensen

David Ballantyne Smith, 58, was said in court to be motivated by an intense hatred for his homeland.

Smith, who worked at the Berlin embassy for eight years, was also said to have been angered at its flying the Rainbow flag in support of gay people.

He admitted to eight charges last week, but that could not be reported at the time as he was denying a ninth count.

Prosecutors have now said they will not press for a trial on the ninth charge, removing the reporting restrictions.

READ ALSO: Germany considers extradition of Briton who ‘spied for Russia’

Smith lived beyond his means, but €800 in cash was found at his home in Potsdam when he was arrested by German police in August last year, the Old Bailey court heard.

Searches of his electronic devices found the draft of a letter dated May 2020 in which he offered his services to a Russian diplomat.

After that letter, he was in contact with Sergey Chukhurov, the Russian military attache in Berlin, handing over information on various British civil servants.

He collected intelligence on the operation of the embassy and delivered some material that was officially marked “Secret”.

Smith faces a maximum jail term of 14 years for spying. He will be sentenced at a later date.

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CLIMATE CRISIS

Why are Last Generation activists in Germany getting prison sentences?

A Last Generation activist was sentenced to prison for criminal acts of protest on Wednesday. As investigations into the climate group continue, The Local takes a look at how German prosecutors are coming down hard on its activists.

Published: 19 July 2024 09:05 CEST
Why are Last Generation activists in Germany getting prison sentences?

The Tiergarten District Court sentenced a leading member of the Last Generation climate activism organisation to a prison sentence of one year and four months without parole on Wednesday.

The sentence was confirmed to Tagesspiegel by a spokeswoman for the court.

Charges were brought against 32-year-old Miriam M., a leading organiser for Last Generation who has previously been fined for acts of protest. 

She has been found guilty of resisting law enforcement officers, damage to property, and coercion (here meaning recruiting members to commit similar acts).

According to the court, M. played a significant role in at least seven previous actions including five road blockades, and smearing orange paint on the façade of the Federal Ministry of Transport as well as the Gucci store on Berlin’s Ku’damm.

Miriam M. commented on the indictment on Platform X, suggesting that her crimes were committed in an effort to “to preserve our safe life in the future”.

READ ALSO: ‘Prepare for 3C rise’ – Europe warned it must do more to deal with climate crisis

In a statement on X, Last Generation stated: “If peaceful protest is criminalised, it concerns us all.”

This verdict comes as prosecutors across Germany appear to be cracking down on disruptive climate protests, especially on members of Last Generation.

This sentencing of M., along with the rulings on a number of on-going cases brought against her and other Last Generation members can be expected to shape how the German judiciary deals with disruptive climate protests going forward.

What’s the case against Last Generation?

Last Generation members are the target of multiple ongoing investigations in Germany. Several of which are looking into the suspicion that Last Generation is a “criminal organisation”.

As reported by Spiegel, the public prosecutor’s office in Neuruppin, a town in Brandenburg, has filed charges against five climate activists for the formation of a criminal organisation.

The initial crime at the centre of the Neuruppin investigation: tampering with an oil pumping station. Last Generation members admitted to turning off a pipeline connected to the PCK refinery in Schwedt with an emergency off switch.

oil pipeline shut down

Self-portrait of two members of Last Generation after they shut down an oil pipeline in an act of protest. Photo provided by Last Generation.

READ ALSO: Will US climate plans affect German gas supply?

The Flensburg public prosecutor’s office followed with its own charges brought specifically against Miriam M., on the suspicion that she “participated in a criminal organisation”.

This indictment also mentions a case of tampering with a crude oil pipeline as well as glueing herself to the runway of the Munich Airport, and taking part in the group that sprayed orange paint on a private jet on Sylt.

The Munich public prosecutor’s office is also investigating Last Generation.

But legal opinions are divided as to whether or not Last Generation should really be considered a criminal organisation.

According to Section 129 of Germany’s Criminal Code, an association is considered criminal if its purpose is to commit crimes – specifically crimes that are serious enough to warrant a two-year prison sentence. 

According to Reinhard Röttle, attorney general in Munich, the case is clear. He told Spiegel that the group “openly calls for crime and recruits members for this purpose”.

road blockade

Members of Last Generation block a highway in protest of Germany’s lack of action on climate change. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/ZUMA Press Wire | Andreas Stroh

But the chair of German and European criminal law at the University of Trier, Mohamad El-Ghazi doubts that the crimes committed by Last Generation have exceeded the threshold of significance: “We must not shoot sparrows with cannons”, he said about the cases brought so far.

Are climate protest groups being disproportionately targeted?

A common critique of Last Generation and similar activist groups is that they cross the line from peaceful protest to criminality when they block traffic or damage property.

However, members of the groups saying that politicians, corporations and society at large tends not to react to protests that aren’t disruptive.

A statement posted by Last Generation on X on Wednesday sums up the sentiment among young people in Germany who are concerned about the government’s watered-down climate policies:

“Breaking: The federal government is reacting to our protests and tightening the climate protection law!

Oh, misread.

The climate protection law is being watered down. Laws to ‘deter activists’ are being tightened.”

The post links to a press release from Germany Interior Ministry announcing that the Federal Cabinet adopted a draft law intended to increase the punishment for people who trespass on airport tarmacs.

If the law goes forward, protestors could face up to two years in prison should they try to block an airport runway in the future.

READ ALSO: INTERVIEW – ‘Failed climate policies are fuelling far-right politics in Germany’

Germany has a reputation for a strong commitment to freedom of speech and the right to protest. But some watchdog groups suggest that these standards are slipping.

Global civil society alliance CIVICUS, which monitors civil freedoms around the world, downgraded Germany’s human rights rating from “open” to “narrowed” back in 2023.

The report cited disproportionate force used against climate protests, and the police raids against Last Generation specifically in their report.

“Germany used to be one of the most free countries in Europe. Now Germany is leading the pack in the EU-wide crackdown on climate activism,” said Tara Petrović, CIVICUS Monitor’s Europe and Central Asia researcher in a statement.

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