German counterintelligence confirms questioning Russians at Berlin airport
Germany's domestic intelligence agency has confirmed that it questions Russian nationals at Berlin's airport, citing a high threat level. Earlier reports said at least one woman was offered cooperation with intelligence during such questioning.
Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the country's domestic intelligence service, has confirmed to the outlets iStories and Deutsche Welle that Russians are being questioned at Berlin's airport. The matter is significant because it points to a tougher German approach toward Russian arrivals following recent sabotage accusations against Moscow.
The office said the threats facing Germany are "documented in considerable detail and remain highly fluid," so it is constantly adapting its measures to a persistently high threat level. It carries out various measures within its legal powers, which include questioning people.
iStories also approached Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND) about reports that someone tried to recruit one of the Russian women stopped for questioning, and that she was later barred from entering the Schengen Area. The BND declined to comment, saying it reports on relevant matters to the government and to the Bundestag bodies responsible for oversight.
What earlier reports said
In early November, the outlet Kholod reported that since September Russian citizens had been invited to "voluntary" interviews at Berlin's airport. They were asked about the situation in Russia, mobilization and rising prices. Airport staff approached Russians after passport control and took them to separate rooms. People were told the interviews were voluntary only during the questioning or afterward.
Andrei Pivovarov, a politician and former political prisoner, said that after one such interview a Russian woman who had arrived on a tourist visa was asked to sign an agreement to cooperate with German intelligence. She refused and was later barred from entering Schengen countries.
Background
German authorities said in September that they planned to tighten entry checks on Russians. This followed reports from authorities of an attempted act of sabotage targeting a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig airport. Berlin blamed Moscow, which denies the allegations.
