Germany drops probe into alleged US tapping of Merkel phone

Germany’s chief prosecutor has dropped a probe into the alleged tapping of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone by US intelligence agencies, his office said on Friday.

The suspected surveillance and rampant online spying by the US National Security Agency (NSA) revealed by fugitive US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden badly strained US- German relations.

The German chief prosecutor Harald Range said he had put an end to his year-old probe, citing a lack of hard evidence that would stand up in a court of law.

“The Chief Federal Prosecutor has closed the investigation over suspected spying on a mobile phone used by the chancellor by US intelligence services... because the allegation cannot be proven in a legally sound way under criminal law,” a statement said.

Media reports in October 2013 said that the NSA had tapped Merkel’s mobile phone - a claim Washington appeared to confirm later when US officials said the cellphone was no longer a target.

Merkel phoned US President Barack Obama and in public told Germany’s traditional post-war ally and NATO partner that “spying between friends just isn’t on”.