Germany expels four Syrian diplomats over spying

Feb 9, 2012, 16:16 GMT

Berlin - Germany expelled four Syrian diplomats on Thursday, two days after the arrest of two men on suspicion of spying on exiled Syrian dissidents in Germany.

'After the arrest of two persons suspected of espionage on behalf of Syria, I have instructed that four staff of the Syrian embassy in Berlin be expelled,' Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said.

'The Syrian ambassador has been informed of this decision.'

The four - three men and a woman - were given three days to leave the country, he added.

Their expulsion follows the arrest on Tuesday of two men - a Syrian and a Lebanese-German - on charges of spying on Syrian dissidents who live in Germany.

Prosecutors said the two are suspected of having been part of a spy ring working for Syrian intelligence. Prosecutors said there were six other suspects.

The two men are alleged to have infiltrated groups opposed to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and reported back to their handlers at the Syrian embassy over a period of years.

Reaction among Syrians living in Germany was mixed.

Abdelhamid al Jasem, chairman of the German-Syrian Association for the Promotion of Liberty and Human Rights, welcomed the expulsion as a 'positive signal.'

'Many Germans of Syrian extraction and Syrian expatriates still are afraid to speak openly,' he said.

But the chairman of another association of Syrians who asked to remain anonymous said he was not aware in his provincial region of intimidation by the embassy. But he told dpa, 'If diplomats have misbehaved, then this is the right response.'

A Syrian engineer in Munich who also asked that his name be withheld criticized the expulsions, saying Germany was inconsistent.

'When there are human-rights breaches in Gaza, Germany does not call in the Israeli ambassador,' he said. 'The Syrian regime is undemocratic, but what the Germans are trying to do is force it to change its political stance towards Israel and the United States.'

From Dubai, the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) welcomed the German decision.

'We highly welcome this move, which will give our activists and opposition members a margin of protection,' Naji Tayyara, the head of the SNC's foreign affairs department, told dpa.

'We call on all other countries to follow the example of the German government and monitor the movements of the Syrian diplomatic missions.'

Westerwelle said, 'On Monday I ordered the Syrian ambassador summoned to the Foreign Ministry to be clearly told yet again that any action conducted by the Syrian state against Syrian dissidents in Germany will not be tolerated.'

The ambassador, Radwan Loutfi, took up the post in Berlin in March, according to the ministry's diplomatic list.

More sanctions against Syria are possible if Germany discovered further evidence of intimidation of Syrian opposition activists on German soil, sources at the ministry told dpa.

Germany is home to more than 32,000 Syrian nationals.

Westerwelle also called for observers to be jointly sent to Syria by the Arab League and United Nations, and for a UN special envoy for Syria to be appointed.

'Both would be an unambiguous signal to the Assad regime from the international community,' he said.

Germany has urged al-Assad to step down after months of pro-democracy protests and unrest that have left thousands dead.

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