The three Germans were arrested Wednesday in Kosovo are agents for the Germany Federal Intelligence Agency (BND), Der Spiegel newsmagazine and the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported Saturday.
The Germans were
arrested by Kosovar police in connection with an attack on the European
Union's headquarters in Pristina on Nov. 14. No one was hurt in the
explosion and indications of the attack's background or possible
motives remain unclear.
The suspects were in
Kosovo "in a private capacity" and had no immunity from prosecution,
police spokesman Veton Elshani told the German news agency dpa.
None of the German
trio were "diplomats, police, soldiers or experts with international
identification," Kosovar investigators said on Friday.
The alleged spies
said they were simply inspecting damage done by the bomb's explosion
and were not involved in the attack, according to the Spiegel report.
One of the men told Kosovar authorities he was working for the BND, the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported.
Opposition wants details
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Parliamentarians want to know exactly what the Germans were doing in Pristina
A
German government spokesman declined to speculate about the possible
involvement of Berlin's security services (BND) in the case on Friday
and instead pointed to the ongoing investigations.
German politicians in the opposition have called for the government to inform a parliamentary oversight committee.
"The status has to be
made clear," Max Stadler, the free-market liberal FDP's expert for
interior affairs, told dpa on Saturday, adding that lawmakers needed to
be informed regardless of whether there was sufficient material to
charge the Germans.
Governments usually
register their intelligence agents with foreign authorities to ensure
they are covered by diplomatic immunity. Berlin failed to accredit the
three agents, leaving their legal status in Kosovo unclear, according
to Der Spiegel.
An EU mission is due
to take over the oversight of law-enforcement in Kosovo after more than
eight years of a United Nations protectorate.
Kosovo declared
independence from Serbia in February. Pristina, Belgrade, the UN and EU
are currently wrangling over the conditions for the deployment of the
EU mission, the Eulex, comprising 2,000 police, judicial and customs
officials.