Assistant to the German MEP with Chinese spy? The unprecedented process has started

In Dresden, the trial of a former assistant of the far -right MEP from Germany began on Tuesday; The man is accused of espionage – informed the AFP agency.

From September 2019, in April 2024, a German citizen Jian Guo served as one of the assistants of the former MEP Maximilian Krah, known for his weakness to autocrats to the autocrat, Tiktok star.

According to the prosecutor's office, Jian Guo “used this function to acquire information” regarding “views and decisions in the European Parliament.”

Prosecutor Stephan Morweiser emphasized in an interview with journalists a “special weight” of a case, which, “when it comes to China, had no precedents in Germany.”

The defense of the former assistant rejects the allegation of espionage.

The detention of Jian Guo was a loud event last year, because Krah was at the forefront of the Alternative list for Germany (AfD) in elections to the European Parliament.

The prosecutor's office maintains that 44-year-old Jian Guo has been employed by a Chinese intelligence since 2002. In the European Parliament, he was to get over 500 documents for Beijing, including some classified as particularly sensitive.

The accused was also to spy on Chinese oppositionists and dissidents in Germany. To this end, he introduced himself in social media as a critic of the authorities in Beijing.

He also gathered information for his Chinese clients about AFD political leaders.

According to the German weekly Der Spiegel, the prosecutor's office confiscated documents in Chinese regarding the struggle for power in the AfD and details about the intimate life of the boss of this formation, Alice Weidel.

The prosecutor's office also accuses Jian Guo of providing Beijing with military information thanks to his colleague, presented as Yaqi X. They concerned, among others transport of military equipment and people “related to the German company (from the industry) of the arms industry.” According to “Spiegla”, this company would be Rheinmetall, a producer of Leopard tanks.

Jian Guo faces up to 10 years in prison, while Yaqi X – up to five. (PAP)

MW/ Szm/