Germany opens inquiry into claims NSA tapped Angela Merkel’s phone

Germany's federal prosecutor Harald Range defied public expectations by opening an investigation into the alleged tapping of Angela Merkel's mobile phone by the US's National Security Agency (NSA).

Mrs. Merkel had complained to US President Barack Obama in person about the alleged tapping of her phone in October 2013, but the federal court's investigation, which was raised against unnamed persons, would constitute the first formal response to the affair. The German government reportedly announced its support for the investigation, according to The Guardian.

• Primary Source

Deutsche Welle, 04.06.14: Prosecutors launch probe into NSA tapping Merkel's mobile http://dw.de/p/1CBmg

BBC News, 04.06.14: Snowden NSA: Germany to investigate Merkel 'phone tap' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27695634

Spiegel Online International, 04.06.14: Merkel's Mobile: Germany Launches Investigation into NSA Spying http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/germany-expected-to-open-investigation-into-nsa-spying-on-merkel-a-973326.html

ESO: Background information: Merkel and Obama bury hatchet on US spying http://www.europeansources.info/record/merkel-and-obama-bury-hatchet-on-us-spying/

Deutsche Welle, 05.06.14: German legislators seek "informal" Moscow meeting with whistleblower Snowden http://dw.de/p/1CDS2

The Guardian, 18.06.14: Call to open RAF base for investigation into NSA tapping of Merkel's phone http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/18/labour-merkel-nsa-phone-tapping-raf-croughton

Spiegel Online International, 18.06.14: NSA in Germany: Why We Are Posting Secret Documents http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/why-spiegel-is-posting-leaked-nsa-documents-about-germany-a-975431.html

Spiegel Online International, 18.06.14: Spying Together: Germany's Deep Cooperation with the NSA http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/the-german-bnd-and-american-nsa-cooperate-more-closely-than-thought-a-975445.html

Spiegel Online International, 18.06.14: New NSA Revelations: Inside Snowden's Germany File http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/new-snowden-revelations-on-nsa-spying-in-germany-a-975441.html

---