Germany arrests AfD leader's assistant for suspected espionage for China

The suspect, named only as Jian G., has been working for the AfD lawmaker Maximilian Krah as an assistant at the European Parliament since 2019. Krah stated he had learned of the suspect's arrest from the media and would stop working with him if the charges were proven.

The Federal Prosecutor's Office said the suspect under bust is credited to be “an employee of Chinese agents” and was accused of carrying out espionage activities at the European Parliament.

“In January 2024, the accused repeatedly passed on information about talks and decisions in the European Parliament to his secret service. He also spied on Chinese opposition figures in Germany for the secret service,” the prosecutors alleged in a statement.

China's espionage network is being uncovered

Anxiety regarding alleged Chinese espionage has surged across Europe in recent months. On Monday, three German nationals were arrested on suspicion of transferring technology with military applications. Simultaneously, two individuals in Britain were charged with spying for China, one of whom was purportedly employed as a parliamentary researcher for a prominent lawmaker in the governing Conservative Party.

Two weeks ago, the Czech newspaper Denik Na and the German magazine Der Spiegel and reported that another AfD candidate in the European Parliament election, German lawmaker Petr Bystron, had received money from a pro-Russian media site. The AfD said Bystron denied the allegation.

Konstantin von Notz, who heads the parliamentary committee supervising Germany's secret services, said these were not merely individual cases but pointed to a broader AfD problem. "The AfD is a party of dictatorships," he said. "They don't try to hide their contempt for our democracy and rule of law. And that makes their politicians susceptible to being influenced and directed by China and Russia."

An AfD spokesperson said Monday's arrest was "very disturbing" and pledged the party would support the investigation.

China Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a briefing that reports of Chinese espionage in Europe were "hype" and "intended to discredit and suppress China."

Nevertheless, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser stated that if the charges were proven, it would be "an attack on European democracy from within," noting that Germany's security services had massively increased counter-espionage, which led to Russian hybrid threats and Chinese snooping.

Source: Reuters