German court tries suburban couple accused of spying for Russia
Workers and a video camera are seen on the construction site of the new headquaters of the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) on November 15, 2010 in Berlin. The new headquarters, located in the city’s heart, will cost approximately 1.5 billion euros and is expected to be completed by 2014. AFP PHOTO / JOHANNES EISELE (Photo credit should read JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images)
A suburban married couple has gone to trial on charges of spying for Russia. The couple, identified only by their aliases Andreas and Heidrun Anschlag, allegedly spied on the European Union for more than 20 years while living a double-life as mundane, middle-class suburbanites, the Daily Telegraph reported.
When they were arrested in October 2011, Der Spiegel reported that the woman was siting in front of a shortwave receiver, writing down secret messages.
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The arrests and trial apparently come as exciting news to the neighbors. "Suddenly we had this spy thriller taking place right outside our window – it was better than the movies," a neighbor told Deutsche Welle.
The trial is expected to be one of the most fascinating spy cases since the end of the Cold War, BBC News reported.
The pair, thought to be in their 40s or 50s, have denied charges of espionage, the Associated Press reported.