Germany: Delegation to COP27 may be targeted by Egyptian agents

The German Federal Police (BKA) has warned the German delegation to the UN Climate Conference COP27 in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh that members of the delegation may be targeted for espionage by Egyptian security agents, three people with knowledge of the matter said. subject.

In an email sent on Saturday, the BKA warned members of the German delegation of “overt and covert surveillance through photography and videography” by Egyptian agents, said one of the people cited in the email.

Comments last week by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about Egypt’s human rights record prompted the threat of surveillance, this person said.

Reuters has not seen the email sent by police. Two other officials in Germany confirmed the existence of the warning, although they declined to specify its specific wording.

There was no immediate response to requests for comment from Egypt’s COP27 presidency or the state intelligence agency, which handles foreign media relations.

A German police spokesman declined to comment.

In the warning, police said that conversations of the delegates might be recorded and that people close to the Egyptian state might try to disrupt events organized by the Germans “through provocative actions,” one of the imgs said, citing the email.

Three German COP27 participants, from non-governmental organizations and industry, said they received verbal warnings from other participants and delegations about possible monitoring.

Two mco members told Reuters that they had observed suspicious activity on some occasions in recent days, including photography and surveillance. One case involved Susan Scherbaut of the German Federation for the Protection of the Environment and Nature. Another occasion involved the Climate Action Network. Reuters could not independently confirm these claims.

A German foreign ministry official said he expected the participants “to be able to work and negotiate under safe conditions”.

“To this end, we are in constant communication with the Egyptian side,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Last Tuesday, Scholz said he raised with COP27 hosts the issue of jailed hunger striker Alaa Abdel Fattah, a prominent activist and blogger who was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of spreading fake news.

“A decision must be made, a release must be made possible so that the hunger striker does not die,” Soltz told reporters.

The Egyptian government said prison authorities would provide Abdel Fattah with health care.