Kosovo authorities released three German intelligence agents Friday, 10 days after they were arrested and accused of throwing a bomb at a European Union office, a UN official and the men's lawyer said. Germany, the second biggest donor to the new ethnic Albanian republic after the United States, was angered by the arrest. It reportedly sent a government plane to immediately pick up the trio, who work for the clandestine BND foreign intelligence service. Robert Dean, head of the justice department of the United Nations administration in Kosovo, confirmed that the three had been released. The previous day a panel of Kosovo judges had declined to release the three, and asked an international judge to join in a review of the case. The closed-door hearing lasted nearly 10 hours Friday.
Germany, the second biggest donor to the new ethnic Albanian republic after the United States, was angered by the arrest. It reportedly sent a government plane to immediately pick up the
trio, who work for the clandestine BND foreign intelligence service.
Robert Dean, head of the justice department of the United Nations administration in Kosovo, confirmed that the three had been released.
The previous day a panel of Kosovo judges had declined to release the three, and asked an international judge to join in a review of the case. The closed-door hearing lasted nearly 10 hours Friday.
