BERLIN: A married Indian couple residing in Moenchengladbach were sentenced by a German court on Thursday after they admitted to spying on Sikh and Kashmiri communities for the Indian secret service.

The couple, who are identified by their first name and initials, as per German law, admitted to having passed on information to intelligence services in a trail that started last month.

Manmohan S. was given a suspended prison sentence of 18 months for acting as a foreign intelligence agent. His wife Kanwal Jit K. was fined 180 days’ wages for helping him in the mission.

According to a court statement, S. was recruited by the Indian foreign intelligence agency Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) at the beginning of 2015, to spy on the Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders.

An insurgency against Indian rule was waged dating back to 1989 in Indian-Occupied Kashmir, claiming tens of thousands of lives.

“The accused reported on the internal affairs of the Sikh temples in Cologne and Frankfurt, as well as on protest events in the Sikh community,” the statement said.

Manmohan S. was paid 200 euros a month for the information he gave, and attended meetings regularly with an Indian intelligence officer from July 2017.

His 50-year-old wife, who was attributed financial motives by the court, joined him in the meetings.

Furthermore, S. was also ordered to a pay 1,500 euros to a charitable institution.

According to media sources, the couple now have 7 days to appeal the decision.