2024-04-23 10:02:18
The man is suspected of spying for China. He was arrested in Dresden. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs talks about defamation. Krah reacts cautiously.
AfD politician Maximilian Krah’s assistant was arrested on suspicion of espionage.
According to media reports, Jian G. has been working as Krah’s assistant since Maximilian Krah joined the European Parliament in 2019. He works in Brussels and Dresden. According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, G. is said to have transmitted information from parliamentary operations to China’s Ministry of State Security in January 2024. G. is also active in opposition groups and collected information about Chinese dissidents there.
Krah reacts cautiously
The AfD published a statement from Krah on Tuesday. He says that Krah found out about the arrest of his employee Jian from the press. Espionage for a foreign state is a serious charge. If the allegations prove to be true, it would result in an immediate termination of the employment relationship, Krah said. Krah told “Bild” at the airport in Strasbourg that, as far as he knew, his employee only had “contacts with official Chinese bodies in the embassy”.
A press spokesman for the AfD wrote on Tuesday morning that the reports about the arrests of one of Mr. Krah’s employees were very disturbing. Since the party had no additional information, they would be awaiting further investigations by the Federal Prosecutor, it was said.
Nancy Faeser sees a responsibility in Maximilian Krah
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser wrote on X on Tuesday that the case must be investigated in detail. If it were confirmed that the European Parliament was spying for China, it would be an attack from the inside on European democracy. She wrote: “Anyone who hires such an employee is responsible.”
If it is confirmed that the European Parliament was spying on the Chinese intelligence services, it would be an attack from the inside on European democracy. Anyone who employs such an employee is responsible for this. (1/2)
— Nancy Faeser (@NancyFaeser) April 23, 2024
China on Tuesday called the reports about spies in Germany slander. A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing said: “The intention behind this hype is quite clear, which is to slander China, suppress it and undermine the atmosphere of cooperation between China and Europe.” In Germany, “Cold War discipline” must be overcome.
G. has been working for Maximilian Krah since 2019
According to reports from “Zeit” and the ARD capital studio, G. came to Dresden as a student and has been a German citizen for several years. Ten years ago he is said to have offered himself as an informant to the German security authorities. However, there was no cooperation. He was considered unreliable and was suspected of possibly acting as a double agent for China as well, the reports say.
As the Office of the Federal Public Prosecutor writes, G. will be brought before the investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice during the day. This will determine the issuance of an arrest warrant and the execution of a pre-trial detention. The arrest of Jian G. is based on a communication from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, it continues.
Three suspected spies for China were arrested on suspicion of espionage in the German cities of Düsseldorf and Bad Homburg on Monday. The two men and women are said to have received information about military technology in Germany to pass on to the Chinese secret service. At the time of the arrests, the accused was negotiating research projects that could be particularly useful in expanding China’s naval combat power, it was said.
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