Germany arrests EU parliamentarian staffer on suspicion of China espionage

German police have arrested an employee of an Alternative for Germany (AfD) European Parliament politician in the eastern German city of Dresden on suspicion of espionage for China, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday.

The employee worked as an assistant for the AfD's top candidate in the European Parliament elections, Maximilian Krah, and lived in Brussels as well as Dresden, according to German broadcasters.

In response to the reports, China’s foreign ministry called for Germany to stop its 'Cold War' mentality and claimed that “the intention of this kind of hype” was to “discredit and suppress China.” During a regular briefing in Beijing, foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin also called for Germany to stop engaging in "anti-China political manipulation."

Meanwhile in Berlin, Germany's interior minister Nancy Faeser said "accusations of spying for China are very serious" if proven true, and that it "would be an attack on the internal constitution of democracy in Europe. And this case is very serious." Separately, AfD co-chairs Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel said that the arrest was “worrying” and that the political party will be discussing with Krah internally.

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