The news that the German special services have opened a special direct line for residents and citizens of Russian, Chinese and Iranian origin fearing transnational repression from their states reminded me of how I myself became acquainted with German counterintelligence.
It’s quite an amusing story.
Immediately after moving to Berlin, I received what was practically an official letter inviting me to a meeting at one of the German security agencies.
Moreover, the department whose employees I was being invited to meet was precisely the one responsible for protecting the constitutional order.
This in itself made me smile. The department that imprisoned me in Russia has almost the same name: Service for the Protection of the Constitutional System and the Fight against Terrorism.
