4 February 2014
Merkel helped US and British spy on German citizens, says hacker organisation
A hacker organisation in Germany, The Chaos Computer Club, accuses Chancellor Angela Merkel and her government of helping US and British intelligence agencies to spy on German citizens. Furthermore, the organisation has filed a criminal complaint against Merkel with the Federal Prosecutor General, however, it is not guaranteed that an investigation will ensue. The complaint alleges that Merkel’s government violated the personal privacy of German citizens through ‘illegal and prohibited covert intelligence activities, along with aiding and abetting such activities’ by allowing and assisting US and British agencies.
Edward J. Snowden, former contractor for the NSA, told reporter Hubert Seipel in an interview that Germany’s intelligence service and the NSA have an ‘intimate’ relationship. Additionally, Snowden stated that ‘[t]hey not only share information, the reporting of results from intelligence, but they actually share the tools and the infrastructure.’ While Steffen Seibert, Merkel’s spokesman, said that to file such a criminal complaint is the right of every German citizen, he declined to comment further on the situation.
Source: The New York Times | Hacker Group Accuses Merkel Government of Helping to Spy