Agents of Israel's notorious secret service Shabak are actively snooping on visitors at Berlin's Schoenefeld Airport, the weekly news magazine Der Spiegel reported Saturday.
The Israeli spies are not only questioning passengers, flying from Berlin to Tel Aviv, but also their family members and friends who accompany them to the airport.
Visitors at the airport had been repeatedly subjected to security checks by Israeli operatives outside the check-in zone.
In one case, the wife of a passenger was followed into an airport bookstore by Shabak agents who interrogated her about the purpose of her husband's visit to Israel.
Most passengers feel reportedly obligated to answer the questions, although Israeli agents are not authorized to have such security checks of airport visitors.
A federal police spokesman confirmed that a number of airport visitors had complained of Shabak's harrassments.
Most international airports have agreements with Israel's national carrier, El Al, allowing it to carry out security checks in addition to the standard checks made by local airport staff on passengers taking Israeli flights.
Press reports have also alleged that Israeli security officials were given a free hand by airports around the world to use racial profiling against Arab passengers, in violation of international law and the host countries' domestic legislation.
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