German police have arrested an aide to a far-right Member of the European Parliament on suspicion of spying for China.
Prosecutors announced on Tuesday that Jian G is believed to have repeatedly passed information on the workings of the European Parliament to China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS). The arrest spurred warnings in Europe that democracy is under threat ahead of EU elections in June, while provoking anger in Beijing.
The German authorities did not specify which politician employed the arrested man. However, media reported that the German national was an aide to Maximilian Krah.
The MEP is the lead candidate for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party for the upcoming European Parliament election.
Jian G was arrested in Dresden late on Monday and his apartment was searched, prosecutors said. As well as reporting on negotiations and decisions of the European Parliament in January, he also allegedly spied on Chinese opposition figures in Germany.
Berlin’s interior minister Nancy Faeser said the spying allegations were “extremely serious”.
Credit: aljazeera.com
