The US National Security Agency's vast eavesdropping programmes amassed more than 300 reports on German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Der Spiegel reported Saturday, citing information leaked by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. Merkel was on a list of some 122 heads of state and government about whom the NSA gathered intelligence in May 2009, the German weekly reported on its website.
Der Spiegel said it had seen documents showing the more than 300 reports on Merkel along with the presidents of Peru, Somalia and Belarus. The purported NSA files could "be an important element of proof" for the German judiciary, which is to "decide in the coming days whether to open an inquiry into suspected espionage," it said.