<p>A married Indian couple living in Moenchengladbach were sentenced by a German court on Thursday after admitting to spying on Sikh and Kashmiri communities for the Indian secret service.</p>.<p>The couple, who are identified only by their first name and initials according to German law, admitted to having passed on information to intelligence services in a trial that began last month.</p>.<p>Manmohan S was handed a suspended prison sentence of 18 months for acting as a foreign intelligence agent, while his wife Kanwal Jit K was fined 180 days' wages for aiding him.</p>.<p>According to a court statement, S was recruited by the Indian foreign intelligence agency Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) at the beginning of 2015, and asked to spy on the Kashmiri opposition movement.</p>.<p>India and Pakistan have disputed Kashmir since they became independent and split in 1947, with the nuclear rivals fighting two out of three wars over the mountainous region.</p>.<p>An insurgency against Indian rule has been waged since 1989 in Kashmir, claiming tens of thousands of lives.</p>.<p>"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.</p>.<p>The 51-year-old was paid 200 euros (USD 223) a month for the information he provided, and attended regular meetings with an Indian intelligence officer from July 2017.</p>.<p>His 50-year-old wife, to whom the court ascribed financial motives, accompanied him to the meetings.</p>.<p>On top of the suspended sentence, S was also ordered to a pay 1,500 euros to a charitable institution.</p>.<p>The couple now has a week to appeal the decision. </p>
<p>A married Indian couple living in Moenchengladbach were sentenced by a German court on Thursday after admitting to spying on Sikh and Kashmiri communities for the Indian secret service.</p>.<p>The couple, who are identified only by their first name and initials according to German law, admitted to having passed on information to intelligence services in a trial that began last month.</p>.<p>Manmohan S was handed a suspended prison sentence of 18 months for acting as a foreign intelligence agent, while his wife Kanwal Jit K was fined 180 days' wages for aiding him.</p>.<p>According to a court statement, S was recruited by the Indian foreign intelligence agency Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) at the beginning of 2015, and asked to spy on the Kashmiri opposition movement.</p>.<p>India and Pakistan have disputed Kashmir since they became independent and split in 1947, with the nuclear rivals fighting two out of three wars over the mountainous region.</p>.<p>An insurgency against Indian rule has been waged since 1989 in Kashmir, claiming tens of thousands of lives.</p>.<p>"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.</p>.<p>The 51-year-old was paid 200 euros (USD 223) a month for the information he provided, and attended regular meetings with an Indian intelligence officer from July 2017.</p>.<p>His 50-year-old wife, to whom the court ascribed financial motives, accompanied him to the meetings.</p>.<p>On top of the suspended sentence, S was also ordered to a pay 1,500 euros to a charitable institution.</p>.<p>The couple now has a week to appeal the decision. </p>