Flown out of the EU Parliament

AfD employee in custody on suspicion of espionage

The suspected AfD employee has been remanded in custody by the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe.(Bild: APA/dpa/Rene Priebe)

After an employee of AfD MEP Maximilian Krah was arrested on Monday on suspicion of spying for China, an investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe ordered the suspect to be remanded in custody on Wednesday. Krah himself remains the top candidate for the European elections in June.

According to the Federal Public Prosecutor General, the arrested Jian G. is said to have passed on information from the EU Parliament. Krah is a member of the committees on international trade, as well as the subcommittees on human rights and security and defense, and is also part of the delegation for relations with the USA. The AfD is entering the European election campaign with him as its lead candidate.

According to the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, the employee was arrested by the Saxony State Criminal Police Office in Dresden on Monday. The accused's apartments were searched.

Maximilian Krah, AfD Member of the European Parliament(Bild: APA/MAX SLOVENCIK)

Krah explained that he had learned of the arrest of his colleague from the press. He had no further information. "Spying for a foreign state is a serious accusation. Should the allegations prove to be true, this would result in the immediate termination of the employment relationship."

The German national G. is said to be an employee of a Chinese secret service. He is said to have worked for Krah since 2019. In January of this year, he is said to have repeatedly passed on information about negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament, according to the Federal Public Prosecutor General. He also allegedly spied on Chinese opposition members in Germany for the intelligence service.

Krah remains top candidate for EU elections
Following a crisis meeting on Wednesday morning, party leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla announced that Krah would nevertheless be the AfD's lead candidate in the European elections. According to Krah, he will dismiss his suspected employee immediately.