A man working for a prominent right-wing German lawmaker in the European Parliament has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China, Associated Press reports.
He was detained in Dresden and is accused of passing information on EU negotiations and decisions to a Chinese intelligence service, as well as monitoring Chinese dissidents in Germany. While prosecutors did not identify the lawmaker, Maximilian Krah of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party confirmed that his employee Jian Guo was arrested. Krah stated that if the spying allegations are proven, the employee would be immediately dismissed.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin dismissed the reports as attempts to smear and suppress China, urging parties to stop spreading disinformation in response to the arrest.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser described the allegations as “extremely serious,” emphasizing that spying from within the European Parliament is an attack on European democracy. The arrest follows a separate case where three Germans were arrested for spying for China.
