Former AfD lawmaker's aide convicted of spying for China

A former aide to a member of parliament for the far-right Alternative for Germany party has been sentenced to almost five years in prison for spying for China.

Jian Guo was convicted on Tuesday of acting as an agent for the Chinese intelligence service while working for Maximilian Krah, a former member of the European Parliament who is now an AfD member of Germany's Bundestag.

The case has raised concerns about the extent to which Europe is being targeted by Chinese espionage.

Guo, a German national, was found to have collected information, including confidential documents, while working in Krah's office at the European Parliament between 2019 and 2024, and passed it on to Chinese authorities. He has denied the charges.

The court in Dresden heard that he had collected personal information about senior AfD figures, including its leaders, Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, and had kept Chinese dissidents in Europe under surveillance.

Sentencing Guo to four years and nine months in prison, presiding judge Hans Schlüter-Staats told him, "There is no doubt that you were an employee of a Chinese intelligence service."

A Chinese accomplice, identified only as Yaqi X in accordance with German privacy laws, was sentenced to a suspended sentence of one year and nine months.

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She admitted giving Guo information about flights, cargo and passengers from Leipzig/Halle airport where she worked. In particular, the information focused on the transport of military vehicles, troops and military drones, the court heard.

Krah, 47, told the court that he hired Guo based on his language skills and experience running an import-export firm. 

After Guo's arrest, he said, he "had taken necessary steps and significantly increased security in his office."