COP27: Germany warns of Egyptian spies
There are reports that the German federal police have warned their nation’s delegation attending the climate change summit in Egypt. This is taking place in conjunction with the United Nations. It is reported that its members may be spied on by Egyptian security agents, according to three people with knowledge of the subject.
According to one of the people quoted in the email, the police, known in Germany as the BKA, warned delegates on Saturday that they would be subjected to “overt and covert surveillance through photography and videography” by Egyptian agents, according to the email.
Olaf Scholz’ remarks last week about Egypt’s human rights record, according to a source close to the Egyptian government, prompted the Egyptian government to threaten surveillance against Scholz in response.
The police did not receive the email they sent. As well as two German officials, another one has confirmed that a warning has been issued. However, they have declined to provide further details about its content.
In response to a request for comment, neither the Egypt COP27 presidency nor the state information service, which manages relations with foreign media, were able to respond immediately.
It was not possible for a spokesperson for the German police to comment on this issue.
This person quoted from the email that the police warned delegates that their conversations may be recorded as well as people close to the Egyptian state may try to disrupt German-organized events “by provoking them”, which he said was part of the warning from the police.
A report from 3 Germans who attended COP27 in Paris, representing companies and non-governmental organizations, warns that they have received verbal warnings from other attendees and delegations that they will be subject to possible surveillance.
According to two members of an NGO-related organization, there have been several incidents of suspicious activity on several occasions in recent days, including being photographed and being followed on several occasions. A single speaker made the presentation, Susann Scherbarth from the German Federation for Environmental and Nature Conservation. It was also said that there was another person who was with the Climate Action Network but who did not wish to be named. In spite of repeated attempts by Reuters to independently confirm their claims, it was not possible to do so.
German officials have said that they expect that the participants in this summit will be able to “work and negotiate under conditions of security”.
As part of this process, we continue to exchange information with the Egyptian side, as a result of which the official spoke on condition of anonymity.
Scholz told reporters Tuesday that he had raised with the COP27 hosts the issue of Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a prominent activist and blogger sentenced to five years in prison for spreading false news and participating in the hunger strike.
In a statement to reporters, Scholz said: “The decision needs to be taken. A release must be facilitated so that the hunger striker does not have to die from starvation.”
There has been a statement released by the Egyptian government declaring that Abd el-Fattah will receive medical attention in prison.
Source- Reuters
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