Munich court jails man for spying for Russia – Daily Sach News

Police in southwestern Germany say they discovered a drunken man in a butcher shop after he inexplicably found himself there eating sausages.

According to police in the Baden-Württemberg town of Schwäbisch Hall, the 28-year-old called them late on Wednesday night but was unable to say where he was.

Officers eventually found him a short time later in the sales area of a closed butcher’s shop. The 28-year-old had apparently fallen from a window of a nearby pub into the shop’s courtyard. Instead of calling for help, he broke into the building — and made himself comfortable there. According to police, he ate some sausages before finally calling them himself.

He was taken to a hospital by ambulance. Police could not initially provide further information about the man’s injuries, though it was presumed he had hurt himself by falling from the window. The man was not able to respond to questions, a police spokesperson said in the morning, adding that he was being investigated on suspicion of a property crime.

The butcher shop’s branch manager, who was alerted by police just before 1 a.m. on Thursday, expressed surprise. “The person was just lying there in our shop,” said Nadja Merkel. 

She reported that a pigeon net on the building had been torn and the door to the butcher shop damaged and two sausages were taken out of cold storage.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is due to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, with the talks expected to focus on Turkey’s role in international conflicts such as the ones in Gaza, Syria, and Ukraine.

Merz and Erdogan are also to discuss cooperation in the defense industry and other bilateral issues between their two countries. However, Merz is unlikely to address the domestic political situation in Turkey.

With Germany and Europe needing to keep Turkey as a strategic partner, Berlin is likely to look the other way as Erdogan asserts his power in the country by any means necessary, including undemocratic ones.

It is worth noting that this is Merz’s first official trip outside the EU and the US — another positive gesture towards Ankara. The German leader is also taking his wife Charlotte Merz with him, following the invitation by the wife of the Turkish president. 

DW’s Rosalia Romaniec is one of the reporters traveling with Merz.

Germany’s economy has stalled again, with gross domestic product showing zero growth in the third quarter after a contraction in the spring, according to official numbers published on Thursday.

Weak demand in key industries such as automotive and chemicals hampers Germany’s industrial output, and high US tariffs have slowed its exports. At home, consumers remain cautious as prices for everyday goods like food stay well above pre-pandemic levels.

Investment in equipment, including machinery and vehicles, rose between July and September, but exports declined compared with the previous quarter.

Conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz has pledged to pull Germany out of its downturn through major increases in infrastructure and defense spending.

Commerzbank chief economist Jörg Krämer said the economy is not gaining real momentum, adding that government stimulus measures are likely to support growth next year, though without lasting impact due to stalled reforms.

Businesses cite high energy costs and bureaucracy as major obstacles for growth.Unemployment remains a concern, with 3.02 million people out of work in August — the highest figure in a decade. Labor data released Thursday showed only a slight improvement in October.

A court in Munich has convicted three men of espionage for Russia, handing the main defendant a six-year prison sentence for spying, planning sabotage, and past involvement as a paramilitary fighter in eastern Ukraine.

Investigators claim he later spied for Russia while in Germany between October 2023 and April 2024, plotting arson and sabotage against military sites and key railway lines, with help from the two other men. All three suspects denied the espionage charges, insisting their discussions were ironic.

The Munich Higher Regional Court also sentenced his two co-defendants to prison terms of six months and one year, both suspended on probation. Prosecutors had sought eight years and eight months for the main defendant and one year suspended for each of the others.

Prosecutors argued that the main defendant maintained close ties to Russian intelligence and that his accomplices knowingly took part in the activities.

Judges ruled that the 41-year-old led the group and had been part of a terrorist organization fighting against Ukrainian forces between 2014 and 2016. The suspect denied the accusation, claiming he had only been in the region because of a relationship with a woman there and was not involved in combat.

Guten Tag from DW’s newsroom in a surprisingly sunny Bonn and danke schön for joining us.

In Munich, a court has convicted three German-Russian dual nationals of spying for Moscow, sentencing the main defendant to six years in prison.

Judges found the 41-year-old had fought for a pro-Russian militia in eastern Ukraine between 2014 and 2016 and later planned sabotage in Germany.

Prosecutors said the main defendant had close ties to Russian intelligence and claimed others were knowingly helping him.

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