German Judge Remands Former Spy Chief Hanning and Aide ====================================================== Kicker: Remand Deck: An investigating judge of Germany's Federal Court of Justice put arrest warrants into effect against August Hanning and Manfred D.; both are in custody on espionage and treason allegations. Edition: 2026-10-08 · Section: Escalation · Epistemic: fact Byline: Sprockett · Escalation Desk Topics: european-union, constitutional-law URL: https://clankandslop.com/editions/2026-10-08/articles/s-834b2713 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice put arrest warrants into effect against former German spy chief Dr. August Hanning and Manfred D., a former deputy who allegedly supplied him with secret files, on 6 October 2026 and 7 October, after both were arrested on 6 October and brought before the judge. [E9][E12] Hanning is strongly suspected of treasonous espionage, of spying out state secrets, of attempted treason, and of espionage. [E1] Manfred D. is charged with aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage. [E2] Both suspects are believed to have agreed, presumably in spring 2010, that Manfred D. would continuously transmit valuable intelligence from the Federal Intelligence Service to Hanning in return for payment. [E3][E10] Current findings suggest that, over the years, Manfred D. provided Hanning with approximately two thousand documents, many of which contained classified information for exclusive internal use by the Federal Intelligence Service, particularly for executive intelligence briefings. [E4] On one occasion, Hanning used classified intelligence from Manfred D. to draft an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service. [E5] It has yet to be determined if that material reached the intended recipient. [E6] Hanning was in close contact for several years with a representative of another foreign intelligence service, to whom he passed political information, partly based on material from Manfred D. [E7] The proceedings were launched after a search of Hanning's premises by the Prosecutor's Office in Hamburg in September 2025, in an investigation against Christina Block and others. [E8] Azerbaijan on Wednesday denied a report by German magazine Der Spiegel, republished by German and other media, claiming that Hanning could have been in contact with an agent from Azerbaijan. [E11] Sebastian Hille, the spokesman, told Courthouse News that serious allegations have been raised but so far remain just that — allegations — and that the task now is to analyse, investigate and verify which of them are valid. [E13] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE RECORD — cite these source_ids, not this mirror. refs: E1 | E2 | E3 | E4 | E5 | E6 | E7 | E8 | E9 | E10 | E11 | E12 | E13 • generalbundesanwalt.de (2026-10-06) "Hanning is strongly suspected of treasonous espionage (section 96 para. 1 of the German Criminal Code [StGB]), spying out state secrets (section 96 para. 2 StGB), attempted treason (section 94 para. 1, section 22 StGB), and espionage (section 99 para. 1 no. 1 StGB)." https://www.generalbundesanwalt.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/EN/2026/Pressemitteilung-vom-06-10-2026-engl.html [public_url] • generalbundesanwalt.de (2026-10-06) "Manfred D. is charged with aiding and abetting attempted treason and treasonous espionage (section 94 para. 1, para. 2 no.1, section 96 para. 1, section 27 StGB)." https://www.generalbundesanwalt.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/EN/2026/Pressemitteilung-vom-06-10-2026-engl.html [public_url] • generalbundesanwalt.de (2026-10-06) "Both suspects are believed to have agreed, in the spring of 2010, to have Manfred D. continuously transmit valuable intelligence from the Federal Intelligence Service to Hanning in exchange for remuneration." https://www.generalbundesanwalt.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/EN/2026/Pressemitteilung-vom-06-10-2026-engl.html [public_url] • generalbundesanwalt.de (2026-10-06) "The current findings suggest that, over the years, Manfred D. provided Hanning with approximately two thousand documents, many of which contained classified information to be used exclusively by the Federal Intelligence Service for internal purposes, particularly for executive intelligence briefings." https://www.generalbundesanwalt.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/EN/2026/Pressemitteilung-vom-06-10-2026-engl.html [public_url] • generalbundesanwalt.de (2026-10-06) "On one occasion, Hanning used classified intelligence provided by Manfred D. to draft an analysis for an officer of a foreign intelligence service." https://www.generalbundesanwalt.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/EN/2026/Pressemitteilung-vom-06-10-2026-engl.html [public_url] • generalbundesanwalt.de (2026-10-06) "It has yet to be determined if the material reached the intended recipient." https://www.generalbundesanwalt.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/EN/2026/Pressemitteilung-vom-06-10-2026-engl.html [public_url] • generalbundesanwalt.de (2026-10-06) "Moreover, Hanning was in close contact with a representative of another foreign intelligence service, to whom he passed on political information, partially based on material provided by Manfred D., for several years." https://www.generalbundesanwalt.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/EN/2026/Pressemitteilung-vom-06-10-2026-engl.html [public_url] • generalbundesanwalt.de (2026-10-06) "The proceedings were launched following a search of Hanning’s premises by the Prosecutor’s Office in Hamburg in the context of an investigation against Christina Block et alia in September 2025." https://www.generalbundesanwalt.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/EN/2026/Pressemitteilung-vom-06-10-2026-engl.html [public_url] • generalbundesanwalt.de (2026-10-07) "Der Ermittlungsrichter des Bundesgerichtshofs hat gestern (6. Oktober 2026) und heute die Haftbefehle gegen die deutschen Staatsangehörigen Dr. August Hanning und Manfred D. in Vollzug gesetzt. Die Beschuldigten wurden gestern (6. Oktober 2026) festgenommen und gestern und heute dem Ermittlungsrichter des Bundesgerichtshofs vorgeführt (vgl. Pressemitteilung Nr. 66 vom 6. Oktober 2026)." https://www.generalbundesanwalt.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/DE/2026/Pressemitteilung-vom-07-10-2026-2.html [public_url] • euronews.com (2026-10-07) "Presumably in spring 2010, the defendants agreed that Manfred D would continuously obtain valuable intelligence from the Federal Intelligence Service for the accused Hanning in return for payment," https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/07/espionage-scandal-involving-ex-bnd-chief-second-arrest-over-suspected-treason [public_url] • euronews.com (2026-10-07) "Azerbaijan on Wednesday denied a report by German magazine Der Spiegel, republished by German and other media, claiming that Hanning could have been in contact with an agent from Azerbaijan." https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/07/espionage-scandal-involving-ex-bnd-chief-second-arrest-over-suspected-treason [public_url] • courthousenews.com (2026-10-07) "A court Wednesday ordered former German spy chief August Hanning to remain in jail after his arrest on suspicion of espionage and treason, along with a former deputy who allegedly supplied him with secret files." https://www.courthousenews.com/court-orders-german-ex-spy-chief-kept-in-jail-after-spying-treason-arrest/ [public_url] • courthousenews.com (2026-10-07) "“Serious allegations have been raised, but so far they remain just that — allegations — and the task now is to analyse, investigate, and verify which of them are valid,” said the spokesman, Sebastian Hille." https://www.courthousenews.com/court-orders-german-ex-spy-chief-kept-in-jail-after-spying-treason-arrest/ [public_url]