Swedish pastor was Stasi Cold War spy

• Tweet

LULEA, Sweden, July 1 (UPI) -- The Church of Sweden acknowledged this week one of its pastors was an East German spy during the Cold War.

The clergyman, identified as 68-year-old Alexsander Radler, reputedly was an agent of the feared Stasi and passed on unspecified information to Berlin for 24 years beginning in 1968.

"According to the German authorities there is no doubt whatsoever that the pastor has handed over information to the Stasi," Anna Wernqvist, a lawyer for the church diocese in Lulea, said in a written statement.

Swedish news agency TT said Radler' alter-ego as an agent code-named "Thomas" came to light when Wernqvist visited the Stasi archives in Germany. The allegations had originally surfaced in a 2011 book.

Radler, who has denied he worked for Stasi, probably will not face criminal charges but will likely lose his license to preach, TT said.