German EU lawmaker’s aide is arrested for spying for China

A man who works for a German lawmaker in the European Parliament has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China, German prosecutors said Tuesday.

The suspect, identified only as Jian G. in line with German privacy rules, was arrested Monday in Dresden, federal prosecutors said in a statement. They said that he has worked for a German lawmaker in the European Union’s legislature since 2019.

The statement didn’t specify which lawmaker employed him, but German public broadcaster ARD and magazine Der Spiegel reported that he works for Maximilian Krah of the far-right Alternative for Germany, who is that party’s top candidate in the European Parliament election in early June.

Jian G., a German national, is accused of working for a Chinese intelligence service and of repeatedly passing on information on negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament in January. Prosecutors allege that he also snooped on Chinese dissidents in Germany.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the spying allegations were “extremely serious.”

“If it is confirmed that there was spying for Chinese intelligence from inside the European Parliament, then that is an attack from inside on European democracy,” Faeser said in a statement.

“Anyone who employs such a staff member also carries responsibility,” she added. “This case must be cleared up precisely — all the connections and background must be illuminated.”

News of the arrest came a day after three Germans suspected of spying for China and arranging to transfer information on technology with potential military uses were arrested in a separate case.

Also on Monday, British prosecutors said a former researcher working in the U.K. Parliament and another man were charged with spying for China.