Two suspected spies for China, including a former aide to far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) lawmaker Maximilian Krah, went on trial in the eastern city of Dresden on Tuesday.
Jian Guo, a German national, allegedly worked for Chinese intelligence from 2002, including while working in the Brussels office of Krah when he was an MEP between 2019 and 2024.
Guo, who denies the charges, is accused of passing on to Beijing more than 500 documents, some deemed highly sensitive, as well as information about decisions and debates at the European Parliament.
Guo, 44, is also accused of being the handler for a second alleged operative, a Chinese national identified as Yaqi X, 39, who is accused of spying on German defence companies.
Prosecutor Stephan Morweiser told reporters that the case was “without precedent” in terms of Chinese spying activity in Germany.
He said it was “particularly serious” as it shed light on “the extensive espionage interests that China has in relation to political, military and economic matters in Germany and the EU”.
Guo is also suspected of gathering intelligence on leading AfD politicians and spying on Chinese dissidents in Germany.
He allegedly posed as a critic of the Chinese government on social media to gain contacts among its opponents.
Yaqi X. worked at a firm that provided the Leipzig airport with logistics services, and is accused of helping Guo access information on flights and passengers.
The information she passed on focused on flights transporting defence equipment and “people with links to a German arms company”.
German media reports say she particularly targeted arms giant Rheinmetall, which is involved in making Leopard tanks and uses Leipzig airport for cargo flights.
According to the charge sheet, the information Yaqi X. gave to Guo “disclosed information about the Bundeswehr’s capabilities, the movements of military personnel and Germany’s aims in foreign and security policy”.
Morweiser said that, if found guilty, Guo faces up to 10 years jail while Yaqi X. could be imprisoned for up to five years.
– AfD ‘power struggle’ –
Both defendants have been in detention since they were arrested last year.
Guo’s lawyer denied the charges, saying his client “did not exchange or pass on any concrete information related to intelligence”.
He said the timing of Guo’s arrest could have been “political” as it came in the run-up to European Parliament elections in which Krah was the AfD’s top candidate.
But Guo’s lawyer acknowledged that “it can’t be ruled out that some of (Guo’s) interlocutors belong to intelligence agencies”.
Yaqi X.’s lawyer said her client met Guo on a popular Chinese app and had a short romantic relationship with him.
She said Yaqi X. did not know that Guo was a spy, but became suspicious when he asked for details on military movements at the airport.
The trial could further embarrass the AfD if it leads to the information Guo allegedly collected on the anti-immigration party becoming public.
According to news weekly Der Spiegel, investigators have seized records Guo kept of conversations with Krah and other AfD politicians about the private life of party co-leader Alice Weidel and an alleged power struggle with her colleague Tino Chrupalla.
Krah denied to the magazine ever having discussed such matters with Guo.
Krah was initially the AfD’s top candidate for European elections but was excluded from the party’s delegation after causing furor with comments that minimised the crimes of the Nazis’ notorious SS.
However, he was welcomed back into the AfD fold for this year’s German election and now sits as one of its MPs in parliament.
The trial is expected to last until late September and Krah himself has been called to appear as a witness.
Krah is also being investigated by prosecutors in Dresden on suspicion of money laundering and corruption during his time as an MEP.
Krah has denied any wrongdoing and said the accusations against him are “politically motivated”.
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