The man faces charges of working for Egypt's General Intelligence Service while a staffer at the German government's press office. The case was made public last July in an annual German monitoring report.
Authorities said Amin K. was accused of helping to obtain informationfor Egypt's General Intelligence Service (GIS) from "at least July 2010" and also of providing a contact as another Egyptian recruit, a move that was ultimately unsuccessful.
The suspect had begun working in the visitor service of the BPA, currently headed by Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert, in 1999.
Prosecutors added that the suspect hoped his Egyptian handling officer would enable preferential treatment for his mother in Egypt and her retirement entitlement.
If convicted of spying for a foreign intelligence service, the accused could face up to five years imprisonment.
Egypt spies inside Germany
Germany's domestic intelligence service (BfV) made the case public last July in its wide-ranging annual report on potential threats to democracy. At the time, the federal press office stayed largely mute, other than saying that visitor service personel could not access other databases.
The July intelligence report said federal investigators launched their probe last December, noting in general that Egyptians living in Germany "could become the focus" of Egypt's GIS and its National Security Service (NSS).
These included members of the Muslim Brotherhood, ousted from government by Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in 2013 — then general, now reelected president — as well as Egyptian Coptic Christians living in Germany, said the annual report from the BfV.
Egypt's deadliest terror attacks
The rise of Islamic extremism in and around Egypt since the 1990s has seen a big rise the number of attacks targeting tourists and non-Muslims. DW looks back at some of the most devastating.
Image: picture-alliance/AA
1997 Luxor massacre
Sixty-two tourists were killed at Egypt's Deir el-Bahri archaeological site in Luxor. Six assailants, thought to have been linked to al-Qaida, disguised themselves as members of the security forces and descended on the temple armed with automatic machine guns and knives. Egyptian tourist police and military forces eventually stopped the attackers, who were either killed or committed suicide.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. El-Dakhakhny
2004 Sinai bombings
A series of bomb attacks targeting tourists in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula killed 34 people and injured 171. Most of the casualties were killed after a truck drove into the lobby of the Taba Hilton. Two more bombs went off at campsites some 50 kilometers away, killing a handful of people. Roughly half the casualties were foreigners, including 12 Israelis.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Nabil
2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks
The attack in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh was carried out on Egypt's Revolution Day and for a decade remained the worst Islamist attack in Egypt's history. A series of bombs planted close to bars and restaurants, as well as by a hotel, killed 88 people and injured 150. The majority of victims were locals, although a number of tourists also died, including 11 British nationals.
Image: dpa
2006 Dahab bombings
The attack on the the Egyptian resort city of Dahab marked the third consecutive year that tourist resorts had been targeted. A series of blasts in a restaurant, a café and a market killed at least 23 people, most of whom were local, and wounded around 80. Egyptian officials maintain that the attacks were carried out by the Islamist cell known as Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, a forerunner of "IS."
Image: AP
2015 Metrojet Flight 9268 disaster
All 224 mostly Russian passengers were killed when Metrojet Flight 9268 suddenly dropped out of the sky over the Egypt's Sinai peninsula, shortly after having taken off from Sharm el-Sheikh international airport. Authorities agree that it appeared a bomb had been snuck on board. The so-called "Islamic State" jihadi group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Grigoriev
2016 Attacks on Egypt's Coptic Christian minorities
While Egypt's Coptic Christians have for decades been targeted by Islamists, deadly attacks on Coptic churches have increased dramatically in recent months. At least 102 Egyptian Christians have been killed in four separate attacks since December 2016.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/Stringer
2017 Coptic church and Al-Rawda mosque bombings
On April 9, 2017, the Coptic church faith followers encountered devastating twin blasts in Tanta and Alexandria as they celebrated Palm Sunday, killing 28 and 17 people respectively. On November 24, 2017, a bomb went off outside of Al-Rawda mosque in the city of Al-Arish in the northern Sinai Peninsula, which claimed the lives of more than 300 people and injured 109 others.
Image: picture-alliance/AA
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'Repressive measures'
Amnesty International says Egyptian authorities resort to a "range of repressive measures" against protesters, perceived dissidents and journalists and have "failed to protect women against high levels of sexual and gender-based violence."
The visitor service of the Federal Press Office based in Berlin enables visits to the German capital by "around 85,000 persons a year."
"The standard itinerary includes a visit to the BPA as well as meetings with members of parliament and ministerial experts," states the BPA on its website.