Germany arrests 3 accused of spying for Turkey

BERLIN — German prosecutors said Thursday that they have arrested three Turkish men accused of spying on compatriots in Germany for Turkish intelligence.

The federal prosecutor's office said two of the suspects — identified in line with German privacy rules only as Muhammad Taha G. and Goksel G. — were arrested Wednesday at Frankfurt airport. The third, Ahmet Duran Y., was arrested at his home in western Germany.

Muhammad Taha G. is accused of running the other two as agents, and they collected information for him on Turks in Germany as well as their "organizational structures," prosecutors said in a statement.

They did not elaborate or say over what period the alleged spying took place, but said arrest warrants were issued on Nov. 11.

The suspects were ordered kept in custody pending a possible indictment.

Germany has a large minority of people of Turkish origin.

In August, Turkey called in Germany's ambassador and demanded an explanation of a German magazine report that Germany's foreign intelligence agency listed Turkey, a NATO ally, as a target for intelligence gathering. German officials would not confirm that report.