IS HE A SPY?

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20510, 11 January 1935, Page 1

IS HE A SPY?

Captain Froge’s Appeal. ACCUSER’S FORGERY. SENSATIONAL TURN TO GREAT ESPIONAGE CASE. United Press Assn.—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. (Received January 11, 12.30 p.m.) PARIS, January 10. The Froge espionage case appears to be developing into a repetition of the Dreyfus case. During the first hearing of Froge’s appeal Geissman, one of his principal accusers, admitted that he had forged an incriminating letter and also that he was a German secret agent, as well as French. Froge has now suspended his appeal and is applying for a re-trial before a jury. Captain Froge, a French officer with a distinguished war record, was charg ed with betraying secret army plans to a foreign Power. He was found guilty of espionage and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, fined 5000 francs, banished from the Belfort area for ten years and deprived of his civil rights for ten years Krauss, an informer who admitted that he was in German pay, was sen tenced to five years’ imprisonment and . fined 5000 francs. Captain Froge’s accusers w r ere Geis mann, a deserter from the Austrian army, who'turned police informer; and Krauss, once a Polish officer, who admitted that he had been a spy in the service of Germany. Captain Froge, who has a brilliant war record, protested his innocence. He accused Geismann of forgery. Krauss said he paid Captain Froge £2OOO for a plan of the air defences of Belfort and other frontier defences The court heard the case in camera. Captain Froge’s lawyer demanded that the British Secret Service' disclose documents w’hich he alleged revealed that the principal witness against Captain Froge was a spy in the service of various governments, and for this reason his evidence was unreliable. Feeling in the French army was very high as Captain Froge had hitherto been blameless, and it was felt that this might be another Dreyfus case. “ The secret hearing is a pretext to cover the machinations of the French Intelligence Service,” declared Captain Froge’s counsel. “There are obvious forgers on the French General Staff, which fears an open debate because the dossier is riddled with improper proceedings and it does not want to bring it into the daylight.”