A German court has ordered the detention of August Hanning, the country's former intelligence chief, after he was arrested on suspicion of treason and espionage.
Hanning, 80, appeared before a judge following his arrest on charges he bought classified documents from a former colleague and used them to advise a foreign intelligence service. The federal prosecutor's office confirmed the allegations. A formal arrest warrant has been issued, and the judge ordered him held in pre-trial detention.
Hanning led the Bundesnachrichtendienst, Germany's foreign intelligence agency, until his retirement. His detention marks a rare case involving a senior retired intelligence official in Germany and raises questions about the handling of classified material by former government operatives across Europe. The prosecutor's office has not disclosed which foreign intelligence service is alleged to have received the documents or the nature of the classified material involved.