BERLIN

A German military officer, who was arrested for passing information to Russian intelligence, was a sympathizer of the far-right AfD party, local media reported on Thursday.

The suspect, who was only identified as Thomas H., was arrested in Koblenz on Wednesday following a months-long investigation by German intelligence agencies.

According to the daily Tagesspiegel, months before the investigation, the suspect already attracted the attention of his superiors due to “his sympathy for the far-right AfD and its Russia policy.”

The suspect contacted Russian diplomatic missions several times since May and passed on information he obtained during his professional activity, the prosecutors said on Wednesday.

The military officer was an employee at the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology, and In-Service Support.

The AfD’s extremist wing was put under surveillance by the German intelligence agency in 2019 for its anti-constitutional goals and anti-democratic tendencies.

Leading figures of the party have long criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine war, opposed sending weapons to Ukraine, and argued that ending energy imports from Russia was against Germany’s national interests.