Media Council: Reports of an "Azerbaijani trail" in the case of the ex-head of German intelligence are disinformation
The Media and Broadcasting Council has called the mention of Azerbaijan in the investigation involving the former head of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND), August Hanning, disinformation.
The Council states that the allegations published by Der Spiegel and circulated by other international media are not based on official sources.
The statement notes that this is part of a smear campaign aimed at damaging Azerbaijani-German relations.
The Council calls on international media outlets to verify information and refer to reliable sources.
According to Der Spiegel's claims, August Hanning, the former head of German intelligence who was detained the day before on espionage charges, allegedly "presumably prepared an analytical report for Azerbaijan's intelligence service." According to the publication, Hanning allegedly obtained unknown "secret" documents through his former BND chief of staff and used them to produce a report that, according to the prosecutor's office, was subsequently to be sent to "an employee of a foreign intelligence and security apparatus." At the same time, it is unknown whether the analysis reached its addressee.
Hanning headed the BND from 1998 to 2005. After leaving intelligence, he became state secretary at Germany's Interior Ministry, and later engaged in business activities.
The investigation into Hanning began after searches of his home and offices in September 2025 in another case — concerning the alleged abduction of the children of businesswoman Christina Block. While examining the seized materials, police discovered an electronic storage device containing classified German intelligence documents, RBC writes. After that, the materials were handed over to the federal authorities, and in May 2026 the Prosecutor General's Office launched an investigation into Hanning and the presumed source of the information within the intelligence service.
